Are You Truly Heartless?
by SilverBladeXx
Summary: During Naruto's youth, he was plagued with nightmares.  As he graduates, he discovers that those nightmares are a reality.  Watch, as he learns to cope with the darkness within.  Semi-Strong!Naruto, Dark!Naruto. Reviewer's Choice, choices in Chapter 3.
1. The Darkness Slumbers

Yo. This is my first story, so please don't be too harsh on me. I'd love the reviews, though. In this fic, Naruto is semi-evil, and stronger than the anime/mange version. This fic DOES take the concept of Heartless from Kingdom Hearts, but it is NOT a cross-over. Still just as intelligent, though. And here's your summary.

Summary: At a young age, Naruto is constantly having the same nightmare over and over again. As he grows, he begins learning a small amount of what is causing this from an unknown source, to him at least. When he finally enters the academy, things take a turn for the worst. Mizuki still tries to kill him, but a power that no one knew of unleashed at that point. This power may mean the difference between life and death for Naruto, though.

_The darkness…_

_It fills my soul…_

_My heart is so black…_

_It's like it doesn't exist…_

_And that makes me…_

_Heartless…_

With a jolt, he woke up. The shock of spiky blonde hair on his head jiggled lightly as he sat up, wide-eyed, panting and sweating. The nightmares, they had gotten worse over the past few weeks. It was almost exactly the same every night. As soon as he fell asleep, his world always opened up to an exact replica of Konoha, and he was running through the streets. He was laughing, carefree and joyous. Other children his age were running alongside him. Then, it would start. The adults begin showing up, taking the children away from him. They called him a "demon", a "monster", and other horrible things. His six-year-old self just couldn't comprehend why. It only went downhill from there. Soon enough, after all the children were gone, the adults would congregate, and surround him. They pulled out several objects, from bats, to knives, even to things such as syringes and broken bottles. Naruto knew what they wanted to do.

_Enter – Dream Scape (Nightmare)_

_ "Leave me alone! What did I do to you?" Naruto screamed behind him. The only response was a bottle that just barely missed his head. He ran even faster, trying to escape the people that wanted to kill him. And the insults began to fly once more._

_ "Demon! Get back here, you monster!" One man shouted, as his eyes burned with the firel of rage._

_ "Yeah! Just face it and die like the scum you are!" A woman near the man yelled as well. The cround yelled in agreement, and started gaining on Naruto. There was only so much that a six-year-old could do to survive, and running was only an option for a short while. _

_ As luck would have it, he tripped. The villagers surrounded him once more, and started to beat him savagely. Eventually, one of them grabbed him by the back of the worn, dirty brown shirt he wore, and dragged him into a nearby alleyway. There, it got worse. They stabbed, sliced, diced, and damaged every part of his body they could. They did everything possible, from bashing his head into a wall, to removing a very important piece of his anatomy. All the while, Naruto tried to scream in pain, to possibly call for help, for anyone to save him. But it never happened. _

_ Soon, two ANBU arrived, and Naruto believed himself to be saved. But, he was sadly mistaken. One of the ANBU turned to him, and one could almost _feel _the killer intent coming off of him. He looked at the people and spoke._

_ "What are you doing, you idiots? You have to paralyze him so he can't walk…" the ANBU said as he slowly dragged a kunai across Naruto's ankles, cutting the tendons, "…cut his throat so he can't scream…"he continued, dragging the bloodied weapon across Naruto's throat, the blood gushing out, "…and THEN you can beat him some more!" the ANBU finished, before picking Naruto up and throwing him into a wall._

_Shift – Dream Scape (Mind Scape)_

_The beating, as savage as it was, was almost non-existent in Naruto's mind at that moment. He felt every hit, but he was more preoccupied with something else. Though he didn't realize it, he was drawn into his mind while in his dream, something that should be considered impossible. As he traversed the sewer like tunnels of his mind, he looked at the pipes that lined the walls. Many of them were blue, and pulsed with a brilliant light that made this place feel safe. Another, almost equal set of pipes, though not as numerous, were twice as large, and pulsed with a red-orange light that filled the place with warmth. This warmrth, however, didn't feel entirely safe. It felt as though there was an underlying, malicious power there as well._

_ The final set of pipes, however, made the others pale in comparison. They were the least numerous, but, they were easily the largest. There was no light coming from them. No, these pipes sucked in all the light around them, making the area pitch black. The blue and orange pipes were the only things lighting the area, and due to those black pipes, just barely as well. When Naruto finally reached the end of the maze of tunnels, he saw a giant cage. The same red-orange energy pulsed from within the cage, and it soon coalesced to form a human-sized, nine tailed fox. It grinned, its tails flying out around it, sending flicks of energy out with each snap._

_**"So…the container is finally here…I wonder…how will you handle knowing what else inhabits you…? What will happen to your fragile little mind…I hope that you're ready, regardless of the outcome…" **__the mysterious beast said, as the black pipes slowly let a black mist seep out. The mist engulfed Naruto, and as he panicked, he felt a sensation of safety, strength, power…but most importantly, darkness._

_Shift – Dream Scape (Nightmare)_

_ The ANBU stopped beating him. Following them, the villagers did as well. This was all due to the wisps of dark mist circling Naruto's body. His wounds healed completely, knitting shut as red-orange energy pulsed over them. He slowly stood up, and stood hunched over, staring at the ground. Soon, the mist started to encase his body, and it left only a dark apparition in Naruto's shape. It slowly looked up at the villagers and shinobi. Gone were the once cerulean eyes of the youth – in their place were slits of pure red, and a spiteful smirk rested where Naruto's pain-filled grimace once was. The people that were once so set on killing him began to flee, but it was too late. All at once, darkness exploded out of what was once Naruto's body, and engulfed the nightmare illusion that was Konohagakure. And then he awoke, as he did every night._

Exit – Dream Scape Enter – Real World

Sitting on the edge of his old mattress, Naruto stared at the ceiling, his eyes weary and blood-shot. He spoke quietly, inaudible to all but himself.

"What's going on…?" was all that escaped his lips, before he drifted off to sleep again, ready for either a pleasant dream that ended in free ramen for life, or the horrifying nightmares that had become the bane of his existance in just a year's time.

**Yeah. First story, yadah, yadah. Please, give me a review. As you've probably seen before, we can't get better without reviews, and if we can't get better, you'll continue to be disappointed. Or just satisfied. But I'd prefer you be thrilled. Anyway, Silver out for now.**


	2. The Darkness Awakens and New Teams

Hey there. Ready for Chapter two? Well, here it is. Starting with the real beginning of the story, now.

By the way. A key for all of you.

"Hello" – Speech

"_Hello" – _Mind/Dream Scape speech

"**Hello" **– Demon Voice or large summon voice/

_**Hello **_– Demon or Large Summon Thoughts

_Hello – _Thoughts/Dream/ Mind Scape actions and descriptions.

"_**Hello"**_ – Dream/Mind Scape Demon/Large Summon speech.

Disclaimer: Now then. Why would I be writing this if I owned Naruto? Unless I'm freaking Masashi Kishimoto in disguise (which I'm not, thank you) then I do not own Naruto.

"You ARE the Kyuubi no Youko!" Mizuki shouted down from the tree he was in, at the quivering form of Uzumaki Naruto. Those words, they struck a cord deep inside of him. All of the insults, the beatings, they all made sense to him now. Even his nightmares, the caged fox, it all made sense.

"No, Naruto! Don't listen to him, he's wrong! You are Uzumaki Naruto, not that demon!" Umino Iruko said to him, from his position against the small hut in the forest they were all in. He pulled yet another kunai from his body, trying to pry himself loose to protect his student. However, he would soon be too late.

"Die, you monster!" Echoed through the forest, as the blurred form of the Fuuma shuriken Mizuki weilded flew through the air, straight at the blonde jinchuuriki. Closing his eyes, he heard a squelch of the blade impaling something soft, and felt the spray of blood hit his face. Opening his eyes, he looked at the blade, imbedded in his stomach. The pain suddenly hit him, as he felt his world going dark. Iruka stared at him, eyes wide in fear and shock. Ripping his body free of the wall, he dashed to Naruto's side and held his body, tears flooding his lids. Snapping his head at Mizuki, he shouted.

"Mizuki, you're the monster! You just killed an innocent child, who didn't even know why until just now!" He yelled, the rage evident in his voice. Mizuki simply threw back his head and laughed, and one could practically feel the insanity rolling out of his throat.

"Me, a monster? I just killed the Kyuubi no Youko, I'm a hero now!" he laughed harder, his body shaking with the tremors of his voice. Naruto continued to bleed, as his breathing became even more laborious. Though Iruka said he was dead, he still held on, if barely. As his eyes shut, he felt himself being drawn into his inner-self.

_Enter – Mind Scape (Cage Room)_

_The room from his dreams. The pipes, the stone floors and tunnels, and the giant cage, with the warm, but ominous power stored behind it. As he lay, bleeding on the floor, the same fox from his nightmares formed, and it stared down at him._

_The fox stared at the cage, and sighed. The infamous Kyuubi no Youko, sealed by something so puny. He looked back down at Naruto, and spoke._

"_**You've finally done it, child. You've finally let that creature have a chance to be free. I hope you're happy with yourself," **__the Kyuubi said, as he waved his tails every which way._

"_W-what are you talking about…K-Kyuubi…?" Naruto said, knowing full well whom he was speaking to at the moment. He coughed, and blood fell out of his mouth, into the ever-growing puddle beneath him._

_The Kyuubi pointed with one of its tails towards one of the walls. More specifically, though, to one of the massive black pipes. There was a large crack in it, and a black liquid was seeping out. Following the trail, Naruto saw that it was forming a circle around him, slowly filling in. The Kyuubi faded out of existence in Naruto's mind, just as the black slime-like substance cover him entirely. _

_Quickly, the black substance exploded upwards, creating a tower that bled into the ceiling. Naruto, engulfed by the tower, screamed in pain._

Enter – Real World

Not only was Naruto screaming in his mind, but also he had begun screaming in the real world, as well. Iruko, startled by the sudden outburst, almost dropped him. Mizuki stared on, infuriated that he had failed to kill the so-called "monster" after all. However, that look of anger slowly morphed into one of surprise. Dark mist had begun circling Naruto, and Iruka, fearing his life, slowly set him down and moved away. Naruto, lying on the ground, shook and twitched from the pure energy radiating from his body.

Soon enough, however, he stilled. His breathing leveled out, regardless of the black mist circling him. Eventually, the mist dove inward at the young boy's body, the energy engulfing him once more. It covered his body, and all that was left was the same, black humanoid as had been in his nightmares. The figure stood up, and placed one hand on his face. From between his dark fingers, one could see his eyes, flickering between the brilliant cerulean they had always been, to the insidious red that signified the creature's control. They soon settled on the latter, and what was once Naruto was gone, replaced by the beast made from the shadows of his soul. Grinning in that spiteful way, it finally chose to adress the one that had attempted to kill its host.

It raised its arm and pointed at Mizuki, and opened its mouth to say, "**Are you ready to die, fool? Because I'm going to eat your heart…". **And just like that, it was gone, nothing but dust left behind from where it once stood. The next second, it was behind Mizuki. Said traitor turned around and looked at the wraith-like being's red, malicious eyes, and he visibly paled, before he tried to escape. It was all in vain though, as the creature of darkness grabbed on to his leg and laughed. It was hollow, and echoed, in a distorted remnant of Naruto's voice. And so it began. The beast slowly tore Mizuki limb from limb, his screams permeating the forest around.

Iruka could only watch on in terror. He was afraid that the creature would come after him next. That it would go on to destroy the village, even the world. But most of all, he was worried that he was gone forever. He heard the monster's next words, and his blood ran cold.

The being that took over Naruto's existence stood, holding the still beating heart of Mizuki in his hand. However, that was not all he did. He crushed it, and a small, red, heart shaped object appeared in his hand. The dark beast put it in his mouth, and swallowed it whole. **"Now then, human. Do you know what it feels like…to be heartless? This is what I feel like all the time…dead, inside and out,"** escaped the being's lips, as his eyes flickered to the blue of Naruto for a split second. Iruka spoke for the first time in the past half an hour with which Naruto had become this gruesome visage.

"N-Naruto…? Are you really…do you really feel heartless…?" he said, his voice quivering. The shadowed nightmare of a life twisted around and looked at Iruka, and its eyes faded back to Naruto's. The shadows started to recede from his body, being drawn into the spot on his chest that his heart would rest under. And when all the shadows were gone, he fainted. Iruka carefully approached Naruto, and hesitated while touching the boy's shoulders. The fear that that beast would reawaken for him was enough to make him wary of the child. Leaning him up agianst a tree, he took off the goggles that hadn't left Naruto's head since he was a child, and replaced it with his headband. Iruka soon lost consciousness as well, and fell asleep with the goggles in his hand.

_Scene Change – Hokage Tower_

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, the Sandaime looked at the events unfolding in his crystal ball, his face set in horror. As soon as Iruka was asleep, he sent his most trusted ANBU to bring them both to the hospital. Naruto to treat the life threatening injury that he was still carrying and Iruka for his injuries and a mental evaluation.

Sadly, the council of Konoha had already caught wind of what was occuring, through an unknown source. They already started to plot what to do.

"The Kyuubi-gaki is obviously even more of a threat now! He needs to die!" One of the civilian council members shouted. The others all agreed with him, being avid haters of poor Naruto. The shinobi council, on the other hand, disagreed strongly.

"You're all being idiots. I think that we should put him on a team. Not only did Iruka give him a headband, but he shows enough danger to have the need to be put under a jonin so he can be watched," Nara Shikaku started. "The only problem is, what team do we put him on, that we have to switch out a member?"

"I say that he should be put on a team with my Kiba!" Inuzuka Tsume replied. Shikaku shook his head in disapproval.

"That won't be any good. Kiba would get him angry, and we've know that…thing…reacts negatively to it. Plus, I don't think th-" he was cut off by another member, Hyuuga Hiashi.

"That I would want the Kyuubi vessel to be teamed with Hinata? Though it is not necessarily the best course of action, I would rather have him than say, the Uchiha," Hiashi said. Since the Hyuuga had a long-standing hatred towards the Uchiha clan, it was to be expected that he wouldn't want his daughter and heir to be associated with the sole remaining Uchiha. The council began to list the possible teams, and continued to do so for the next several hours. They would submit the suggested teams to the Hokage in due time…

Several days later, after Iruka and Naruto had been given the O.K to leave the hospital, they went to the Academy to give out the team assignments. By then, everyone had heard that Naruto helped to stop a traitor from selling off village secrets, but they hadn't heard about what else happened. As far as they were concerned, Naruto got a lucky hit in and stopped the traitor long enough for a skilled shinobi to get there. Upon arrival in the classroom, instead of completely ignoring him, some students actually acknowledged him. Though from most of the males in the class he received a curt nod, some of them actually gave him a thumbs up, a look or approval, or, in one stuck-up bastard's case, a look of anger at being shown up.

_Scene Change – Academy Building_

From the females, however, there was a much larger range of emotion. Many of the girls looked at him in a way that said "How dare you show up Sasuke-kun?", but that was to be expected. The harshest of those looks came from Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, of course. The next set of looks he received were almost like re-appraisals, from the girls that didn't fawn after the Uchiha, but hadn't shown any interest in him. Next were the girls that had spoken with him on occasion, but hadn't really talked to him unless they needed to. They actually gave him a glance that appeared to be more than what he was expecting. It was almost as if they were actually interested in him. Finally, and the most unnoticed, was a stare of passion, and of pure, unrequited love. This one came from Hyuuga Hinata, the only person to ever have only seen him for who he is, not what the adults say he is. The blush on her face only intensified when he glanced in her direction for a moment, in worries that he had seen her. When he moved on and sat down, she almost fainted from the strain. After Naruto was seated, Iruka began to call the teams. He had decided to forgo the speech he usually gave, since everyone wanted to get out of there. Especially himself.

"Team One is going to consist of Terito Kime, Retra Nef…" he droned on, the teams slowly and lazily passing from his voice, almost being completely ignored by those that weren't on the teams. That changed upon the reach of Team Seven.

"Team Seven will consist of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke…" At this, Sakura pumped a fist into the air and told Ino off, while said blonde fumed away in the back row. Iruka continued. "…and Kiba Inuzuka. You will be led by Hatake Kakashi." Sakura immediately changed her tune, and slumped into her seat, while Ino smirked triumphantly.

"Team Eight will be Hyuuga Hinata, Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru Nara. You will be led by Yuuhi Kurenai." Hinata, though happy to actually be on a team, was disappointed by the results. Shikamaru was…asleep, with a small note on his desk saying 'Wake me up when we're leaving'. Shino was almost emotionless, though a small buzz coming from his body gave the notion that he was in a state of excitement.

"Finally, Team Nine will be made up of Yamanaka Ino, Chouji Akimichi, and Uzumaki Naruto. You will be led by Sarutobi Asuma. Now then, go have lunch with your new teammates, and then come back to the classroom to meet your senseis. You have one hour," Iruka said as he began to walk out. Ino was practically foaming at the mouth. Not only had she not been paired with Sasuke, like she wanted, but Sakura was instead! And instead, Ino got stuck with the "dead-last" Naruto, and the fat-ass Chouji. Chouji she could stand, since she was used to bein around him, but Naruto she could barely tolerate being in the same room as.

_Time Skip – Two and a half-hours later_

_Scene Change – Training Ground 14_

Asuma looked on at his group in a manner that suggested he was rather unimpressed. You see, because Ino had insulted him during the lunch break, he decided to prank her. But, the prank involved a lot of paint, sharp objects, and for some reason, a cannon. Where he found the cannon, no one will know. Needless to say, Ino had to take some extra time to change, and had to let her hair stay down so it could dry after she bathed. Now, instead of her usual purple outfit, she wore a dark blue v-neck shirt with whitem long sleeves that hugged her body, black shorts that cut off at her knees, and the standard blue shinobi sandals. The strange part was, he wasn't upset with Naruto. In fact, he was actually a little happy with the outcome.

"Now then. First off, I want to thank Naruto for his little…show, earlier," Asuma said, leaving Ino's angry shout out of his mind, "If you hadn't have done that, I would have had to go through a whole speech with Ino about wearing clothes appropriate to a shinobi. These are _much_ better, especially if you are doing espionage work." Ino stopped her outrage, and looked at Naruto, glaring with all her might at ruining her favorite clothes. Though she did realize what Asuma-sensei was right, it didn't mean she had to like it. Asuma continued in a more ominous tone.

"Now then, onto business. Today we are going to start our first exercise. I hope that you're okay with getting the snot beat out of you. 'Cause if you don't do this right, you'll be hurting something fierce."


	3. The Darkness is Restrained and Teamwork

Heya, everyone. Sorry for not putting the next chapter up. I was a little busy with some stuff, so I couldn't find a good moment to work on this. Shame that it only has two chapters so far, ne? Anyway, here's your next chapter.

Disclaimer: …tell me, if I did own Naruto, would I be posting these things? Unless I was just messing with everyone. But that wouldn't be a probability now, would it?

And if you want the text key, look at the last chapter. No use in putting it up over and over.

"Ano, Asuma-sensei, are YOU going to be the one "beating the snot" out of us?" Ino asked. The look on her face was easy to read. She was still mad, and she was going to take it out on the first person to get in the way. And it didn't matter who that was. It didn't take long for Asuma to answer.

"No, no. You're going to be doing it to yourselves," Asuma said with a devious grin on his face. One that even rivaled the grin that Naruto got whenever he was planning a prank. The three genin hopefuls watched as Asuma pulled out a small scroll and unfurled it. When he placed his hand on it and smoke billowed out, they suddenly got a feeling of foreboding. As the smoke cleared, a set of chains and shackels were visible in Asuma's hands. Walking over, the look of dread was evident on Ino and Naruto's faces, while Choji, who hadn't said a word, just ate out of his seemingly inexhaustable bag of chips continuously.

After some struggling and a stream of curses from not just one, but both, blonde shinobi, the binding devices were finally in place. Stepping back to observe his handiwork, the jonin brushed his hands together and smiled with eyes shut. The three genin were chained togther in a triangle with about a foot of chain between each of them, and a small iron ball lightly brushing the ground in the center. When Choji looked at Asuma with a face that screamed confusion, he explained.

"Here's how this exercise is going to work. Behind me is a minefield. All of the mines are clearly visible, but they are packed closely together. Your job is to use teamwork to make it to the other side unharmed. To make it more difficult, the chains seal off your chakra so you can not use any jutsu to evade the mines or their explosions. Now then, get to it!" He said, ignoring the looks of discontent on his genin's faces. Laughing silently to himself, Asuma sat himself down on a log off to the side.

Taking their first, tentative steps, the trio managed to get around the first few mines, but that was when the trouble started. The group soon learned what the iron ball was for. As they tried to maneuver it over a mine, it brushed the top, and set the mine off. Choji managed to move them out of the way in time with some monstrous strength he seemed to hide most of the time he was around. Wiping his forehead off in relief, Naruto decided to stop the group to strategize.

"Ne, ne! I have an idea! So, why don't we each take turns carrying each other to make it easier to avoid the mines?" He shouted, forcing Ino to both cover her ears and smack him in the back of the head after wards.

"Baka! That won't work. Choji could lift you and me, and you could lift me, but neither of us could lift Choji. Hell, I couldn't lift you, despite how tiny you are," the platinum blonde girl stated with an equally loud shout. Choji's left eye twitched slightly, but he didn't do anything. As long as no one called him fat directly, nothing could go wro-

"It's not my fault he's a fatass! Jeez, if you have a better idea, than you do it!" And that was the last straw. Naruto, being the oblivious dolt he is at times, managed to break Choji's calm and send him into his undeniably powerful rage over his weight.

"I'M NOT FAT! I'M CHUBBY!" The said…large boned shinobi…shouted. The look of terror on Ino's face was enough to make Naruto fear his life as well, and he got up and prepared to run. However, he completely forgot about the chains, and fell flat on his face. Ino, on the other hand, saw an opportunity at the last second, and since Choji was behind the both of them, her idea came to fruition. Starting to run, Choji followed after her. Using some of the dust kicked up behind her, she stopped and let Choji move past her, and then jumped on Naruto's back, the poor boy being flopped around like he wasn't even there, excess baggage.

It turned out that Choji is actually quite fast when he's angry. In fact, he was just fast enough to plow through the minefield and get out of the range of the explosions just before they went off. Naruto, however, wasn't so lucky, but managed to not be destroyed by the bombs. In fact, the worst he received was that the area of his pants got burned off about halfway up his shin. But, they eventually made it out of the minefield, where Choji collapsed from exhausting himself, and Ino continued to kneel on Naruto's back. With a hand on her right leg and the other in a "Peace" sign, she winked over at Asuma to say that they made it out. Even if said result occurred accidentally, in a way. Naruto simply craned his head back and looked up at her, the look in his eyes saying it all. He was not happy that he was used as a human sled.

"Well…though that was rather…unorthodox, you did use teamwork to get through it all…I think…" Asuma said, as he stretched after getting up. Truth was, he fell asleep about halfway through the challenge, and was only woken up when the mines starting going off so rapidly. "I will say you passed, but the fact that you just used your team mate like that, even if it was just on the fly, needs some form of punishment for you, Ino. But, the problem is what it should be…" Putting a hand to his chin, he thought deeply about what he could do to punish her effectively without going overboard. Nothing is worse than having a pissed off Yamanaka after you. The mental scarring took years of therapy at times.

"Ne, sensei, can you get Ino off of me now? Her knees are digging into my back…" Naruto said, all but forgotten. However, his timely interjection gave him a reasonably punishment for both Ino and Naruto. He had almost forgotten that pranks needed to be punished too. Especially if they ruin someone's clothes.

"Well, I just thought up the perfect punishment for you two. Now then, Choji, you're free to go home. You two, however, are going to remain chained together until the next training session, at the same time tomorrow.," Their smoking sensei said, as he unhooked Choji. In turn, the slightly rotund boy walked off and started munching on his chips all the way there. Ino and Naruto, however, had looks of both shock and anger on their faces yet again.

"Asuma-sensei, what do you mean we'll be chained together until tomorrow! I mean, where will we sleep? That's just wrong," Ino chimed in. Expecting that to convince Asuma to let her go, she was flabbergasted when he just started to walk away, lighting up another of his poison sticks. He did, however, look over his shoulder and give that question an explanation.

"Think of it as another exercise in teamwork. Shinobi and kunoichi have to sleep in the same place at times, usually in close proximity. You'll learn to deal with it early on."

Sighing, Ino hunched over and looked at her fellow blonde, the depression started to set in, as he tried to gnaw off the shackle around his ankle. Smacking her hand into her own forehead, she decided that it was going to be a long, LONG twenty-four hours.


	4. Team Mates:  Restaurant Bonding

**Hey again, everyone. Please read the note at the bottom, because it has the pairings in it. I'd like you to send me your choice and/or a constructive review so that I can get better.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure this is obvious by now, but here it is. I do not own Naruto or any of the concepts borrowed from Kingdom Hearts.  
**

* * *

About half an hour later, one could find Ino and Naruto walking through the streets, their shackles clacking against the ground. The odd looks given to Ino were only outmatched by the glares Naruto received. They mostly assumed that the "monster" chained the girl to himself as a way to "claim" her. Which, of course, just made their opinion of the poor Jinchuuriki even worse.

As they walked, Ino couldn't help but feel more and more depression, and it only became worse when she looked at her fellow blonde. She was embarassed to just be anywhere near him, but to be chained to him was mortifying. Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't care less. Sure, he was stuck with Ino for the day, but what was the worst that could happen? But, in Naruto's mind, nothing could happen at all. And since when was he right about these things?

The first of the accidents occurred shortly after Naruto's stomach growled. Deciding that it was time for a meal, he started to walk to Ichiraku Ramen for his normal helping of ramen. Ino, knowing Naruto's eating habits, was determined NOT to go there, and instead take him somewhere that wouldn't wind up in her feeling sick from watching him eat, and where she could get something nutritious, like a salad. But, Ino being one of the kunoichi that was most concerned about her weight and not her ability, didn't realize that she worked off most of her calories every day simply from being a kunoichi. So, in just a few moments, the two were arguing about which restaurant to go to. Ino was attempting to convince him to go somewhere that actually had healthy food, and Naruto was proclaiming that ramen was the food of the gods and could do no wrong.

"Naruto, I'm telling you, you need to eat healthy! You're never going to get taller with all that ramen!"

"I don't care! It's my stomach, let me eat what I want!"

"No, we're going where I want, and that's final!"

"I can't! No place other than Ichiraku treats me fairly!"

"…what? What on earth do you mean?" Ino asked, giving him a questioning look. As far as she knew, besides a few pranks, Naruto had never done anything wrong, and most certainly never anything bad enough to not be treated fairly in restaurants.

"You heard me. I'm always thrown out or charged stupid prices. It's all the stores that do it. I mean, I like orange and all, but why would I wear this much if I'm a shinobi?" The hyper blonde boy said. Ino, in realization of Naruto's predicament, easily pieced together that something wasn't as it should be. If he really was an orphan, the shops should take pity and even reduce the prices, not hike them up like he said they did. Of course, she didn't know quite what it was. But, it wouldn't do any good to think about it right then, as both hers and Naruto's stomachs growled loudly at the same exact time.

"…Okay, we're going where I want RIGHT NOW!" She shouted, before dragging Naruto off towards a personal favorite restaurant of hers while he was off guard. It didn't help that he was hungry enough to just give in, either.

When they finally arrived at said restaurant, Naruto was immediately spotted. The seater walked up to him and poked him in the chest, prepared to yell at him to get out of the place. Her long brown hair framed her face, and the shape of her body was quite attractive. Not to mention the fact that she had a soft voice, even though it was sullied by the harsh tone.

"You little brat, how many times have we told you to stay the hell away? Do you want us to hurt you?" She said, failing to notice Ino behind him. She looked on in disbelief, amazed that she was treating Naruto so cruelly, when she was normally so nice. Ino was in fact, too stunned to react. Naruto attempted to defend himself while he was being insulted.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but my teammate dragged me here to get something 'healthy to eat'," he said, rubbing the back of his head. The seater looked around him to see if he was telling the truth, and saw Ino. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she looked down and saw the chains. Her mind quickly jumped to the conclusion that the "demon brat" had done this as an excuse to get into the restaurant.

"Yamanaka-san, what has this brat done to you? Did he bring you here against your will?"

"No, no, relax, Kara, I'm the one that dragged him here. I just want to get him to eat something nutritious for the first time. Besides, I'm sure he can pay for his meal, right?"

"Uh…yeah, I can pay! Well, I can pay for the most of it. It's been really expensive here, from what they made me pay the only time I got in," the bewhiskered child said innocently. He thought that those prices were normal, as he never saw what other people paid. This was one of the few places that he didn't know were overcharging him, whereas places like the grocery store near where he lived and the weapons store, he knew were making him pay far too much.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure that the prices will be much lower. Am I right, Kara? I'm sure that if the prices are too much, I should stop coming he-"

"No, no, Yamanaka-san! T-the prices have dropped drastically from the time that your little friend came here! I'm sure we can even get a discount for him!" Kara said nervously. Ino was their most frequent customer, and the fact that she was threatening to stop coming worried Kara greatly. She would have the manager on her tail if that happened.

Showing the two inside, she sat them at Ino's favorite booth, and let them place their orders. Ino, being the girl she is, ordered a normal salad. Naruto, on the other hand, had a hard time choosing what he wanted. Eventually he settled on a steak. Something he had never had before because of his treatment. Staring at Ino, he soon got a "what-is-it" kind of look, at which Naruto felt obliged to answer.

"Uhm, Ino, why did you help me out back there? I thought you hated me."

"Well, I just thought it would be nice of me to get you something that's actually good for you. Besides, now you owe me one," she said with a grin. Of course, she wasn't going to let it slide. She was prepared to get that favor at some point or another, and she was going to use it to its fullest.

"O…kay? I never thought you'd be one to do that. And then again, I didn't think you'd hold this over me, either," Naruto returned. Ino was unpredictable to him. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to live whatever she had planned down.

"Well, since we're here, why don't we do some "team bonding?" Get to know each other. Chouji and me get along just fine because of our fathers, but we obviously need some work. Let's just…talk," Ino finished as their food arrived. The glares given by the waiter didn't go unnoticed this time, and what was even odder was that it was directed at Ino too. Said girl raised an eyebrow, but said nothing before eating. The two chatted calmly over their food.

"So, Naruto, what do you like to do?"

"Well, I like to eat ramen, train, eat more ramen, sleep, try different kinds of ramen…and you?"

"Well, there are a few things…"

And so the evening would continue, as they stayed in the restaurant for another few hours, discussing their daily lives and what they did.

* * *

**Chapter Four done. Please continue reading the rest of this to choose your pairing of choice. Also, a normal review would be nice as well.**

**Pairings:**

**InoxNaruto**

**HinataXNaruto**

**SakuraXNaruto**

**TemariXNaruto**

**NarutoXKin (The bell girl from the Chuunin exams)**

**And finally, I'll allow the reviewers to send in a review containing an OC (Original Character) for Naruto to be with. I'll give them total credit for it, and use them so long as she isn't overpowered. Please, make a wise decision. **

**On that note, I bid you all adieu. Review, please~  
**


	5. Team Mates:  Bedtime Bonding

**Yo! Chapter five up. This is more of a "Okay-lets-put-something-up-to-keep-them-content-while-I-think-of-a-real-chapter" chapter. Hope you enjoy Naruto's pain near the end.**

**Disclaimer: Ask yourself this: Would I be writing these if I was Masashi? No. I would be PAYING someone to write these for me. And of course, I can't do that either. Anyway, I don't own Naruto or any of the concepts borrowed from Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

The next incident could not have happened faster than it did. As soon as the two walked out of the restaurant, they ran across one of the worst possible people they could have at that moment. Haruno Sakura. Said pink haired girl, though not entirely sure at first, was baffled at what she believed to be her "rival" Yamanaka Ino and Uzumaki Naruto to be walking out of a restaurant where they had been on a date. Now Sakura, as shallow as she is, immediately decided to put Ino down, and claim all sorts of imaginary statements of her being with one Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey, Ino! I didn't know you were with _Naruto! _Did you two have a nice _date?_" She said, a smug grin on her face. Meanwhile, her Inner Sakura was having a moment of sheer bliss, which Outer Sakura was all but oblivious to.

"Think again, Sakura! I took Naruto here so that he could get some proper nutrition and for some team bonding. Just look at our feet."

Doing as she was told, Sakura looked down at their feet, and a look of disbelief fell onto her face. The shackles that were there made no sense to her, and she was curious as to why they would be there in the first place. Finally, she spoke. "Ino, why the hell are you chained to Naruto of all people? I mean, me and Sasuke would have gone out together, but he was busy. And I didn't _chain myself_ to him to get him to go. But, I guess no one would want to be with you, Eh Ino-bunta?"

Glaring at the shock of pink hair that was known as Sakura, Ino simply grabbed Naruto's arm and stalked off. It would be no use fighting with her, since that would most likely ruin the bonding she and Naruto had just done. The fact that her fellow blonde had a crush on the banshee was bad in and of itself. Naruto, on the other hand, had different sentiments. Not only had Sakura claimed Ino was that desperate for someone, but she had blatantly insulted him, as though he were some kind of disease. Just this moment alone allowed him to realize that Sakura wasn't as sweet and kind as he assumed. But, he was willing to give her a chance to prove herself to be a good person. So for now, he would just disregard what had happened.

When he finally snapped out of his epiphany, Naruto looked around to see that he was in an area of Konoha that he didn't know all that well.

"Ino, where are we going?"

"To my house, baka. My parents obviously wouldn't let me stay at your house, and we wouldn't be able to go anywhere else. Best logical choice."

"But, Ino, don'tcha think that they'll try to like, kill me for being chained to you like this?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Kaa-san and Tou-san are really nice. I'm sure they'll understand. So shut up and walk," Ino finished the conversation. She would be in a lot of trouble if she went anywhere stuck to a boy like that, especially since her father would search for her. And find her. And interrogate Naruto. And then mentally scar him for life. Her father was such a lenient man, no?

As they arrived at the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Naruto looked at her in confusion, before she pointed out that her house was attached to it. Naruto "Oooh"ed in acceptance of that answer while they walked in. Leading him to the back of the shop, as Ino walked in through the door, she announced her return, and her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, went to greet her. And then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two of them. It wasn't because of Naruto being there. He would understand that easily. The shackles were what got him. Rushing forward, he grabbed Naruto by the collar and held him up high. Naruto's look of panic didn't make Inoichi falter in the slightest.

"Alright, kid, what did you do to my daughter? Why is she chained to you?"

To which Ino promptly responded for him: "Tou-san, put him down! Naruto is my teammate, and Asuma-sensei did this to us as a punishment for not working well enough as a team."

Apparently, this statement was enough, as faster then any of them could blink, Naruto was on the ground again, and Inoichi was talking to Ino as though the short boy wasn't even there.

"Ino-chan, listen. If he tries anything, just shout and I'll be there in a jiffy, okay?"

"Tou-san, come on. You know I can handle myself. You trained me during the academy, after all."

Inoichi then simply walked away and into their living room, where he sat down on the couch and pulled a book out of thin air, labeled: _How to Permanently Scar People That Piss You Off._ Obviously Naruto would be in for a rough time if he even blinked wrong. However, he didn't get a chance to think about that, as Ino dragged him up the stairway and to a room at the end of the right-side hallway. Upon opening the door, Naruto was astounded at seeing all the purple. Not at being in a girl's room, but at all the purple. He was almost upset that there wasn't any orange in it, until he saw a brush on her vanity that was that color. That was just enough to appease his thirst for said color. Ino looked over her shoulder at him, and then spoke while digging through some drawers.

"Okay, this is where we are going to sleep tonight. Tou-san will understand, but seriously. Don't even think about us sleeping in the same room, or he'll know and erase your existance."

Naruto just stared at her, even as she pulled out a set of Pajamas and started to pull off the shirt she was wearing. When she noticed that Naruto was still looking at her, she glared and yelled at him for having the gall of staring at her as she undressed.

"Naruto, you perv. Get your eyes off me and turn around."

"Ino, why are you even changing? Why not just sleep in what you're wearing?"

"Because, I was sweating from today's activities, and I don't want to sleep in dirty clothes."

Naruto, still confused, didn't turn around, until Ino kicked him in the face hard enough to daze him.

Upon waking up, approximately three minutes later, Ino was just finally pulling the pants on completely, and Naruto saw enough that he managed to pass out again. Ino stepping on his face didn't quite help him either.

Coming to ONCE AGAIN, Ino was sitting on her bed with her arms crossed, inbetween glaring at him and contemplating something. It seemed as though she was deep in thought, and couldn't quite decide on what to do. Finally, she sighed and looked at the spiky haired blonde on the ground next to her bed.

"Naruto, we have a problem. The chain is too short for you to sleep on the ground and me on the bed without me getting pulled off, and my bed is just a little bit to small for two people to sleep on it without being extremely close together…and I have a problem with both."

Naruto looked at her and thought about it too. If he managed to pull Ino off the bed while she was asleep, she would pretty much kill him. If he slept in her bed with her, and he managed to…you know. That would also result in Ino killing him. But she would castrate him first. With a rusty spoon. She seemed like that type of girl. However, his biggest surprise of the day came with Ino sighing, lying down on the bed, and motioning for him to lie down with her.

"Come on, Naruto. This is better for me. But, if you try anything, Tou-san will have to wait his turn to get at you. Because I'll castrate you first. With a rusty spork."

Well, he was partly right. But the spork would, most likely, hurt even more. The whiskered child hoped to whatever gods there were that nothing would happen.

All the while, Inoichi was watching him crawl into the bed next to Ino with eyes like a hawk and a rusty spoon in hand. But, hearing Ino's statement, he looked down at it, and threw it away. His daughter had that covered.

* * *

**There you have it. Now then, for the normal stuff. Please, send me a review with your thoughts on the fanfiction so far and how I can improve, as well as your vote for the pairings. As of right now, it goes as such.**

**NarutoxKin: 2 votes.**

**NarutoxSakura: None, but because of the last review, I'm going to say negative one. Thanks!**

**NarutoxHinata: None. **

**NarutoxTemari: NONE.**

**Okay, you know what. NarutoxKin has all the votes. I don't want to type out the rest. PLEASE VOTE. Look in the last chapter for all the pairings.  
**


	6. Conflict With Darkness and Embarrassment

**I am terribly sorry for not putting up a new chapter for so long. I've been incredibly busy, and after wards I'm too tired to do anything for it. I feel like a terrible person, but I'm finally feeling awake enough to give you a new chapter. And the current stats for the pairing votes will be at the bottom as usual.**

**Disclaimer: Tell me this. If I owned Naruto, why on Earth would I be writing these? Besides. If I owned Naruto, he wouldn't have been treated like an outcast, Kakashi would be more epic than he already is, and Sasuke would be pushed off a cliff every two seconds. Regardless of location.

* * *

**

_Eleven o'clock PM. Ino's Bedroom._

In Ino's bed, the two slept soundly. Ino was up against the edge of the bed, pressed against the wall, instinctively staying out of reach of Naruto, who was sprawled out on the thing. There was barely enough room in the first place, but what were they supposed to do? Have Ino sleep on top of him? They weren't smart or old enough to think of something like that. Ino still had the rusty spork in hand, and Naruto's leg, the one closest to her, had the pant leg shredded in numerous places. Apparently he kicked in his sleep sometimes, and Ino was reacting to it in the most viable way at that moment…

However, the peaceful sleep changed very quickly. Naruto soon started rolling around as he broke out into a cold sweat, a pained look on his face. He made soft, weak noises like he was heavily injured, and clutched at the sheets.

* * *

_Enter – Dreamscape_

_The spiky haired blonde sat up with a start, his chest heaving with the huge breaths he took. Looking around, he found himself sitting in the middle of the street in Konoha. But, everything was…wrong. The buildings held no color, not a drop. All was black and white. The sun, the grass, the raging inferno…_

_Raging inferno?_

_All around him was fire. Pure black fire, darker than the darkest caves. But, it didn't burn. It didn't hurt him. In fact, it felt cold. Icy, like it was draining him of all warmth. He reached out to touch it, and it reacted. It all jumped, swirling around him in a towering blaze of such magnitude, that he couldn't even see the top. That is, if he could see anything at all. It had closed off everything, so all he knew was if he was standing on solid ground. Then again, in this strange place, for all Naruto knew he w as standing on a freaking cloud._

_The flames soon parted, revealing a path made of pure darkness. Nothing surrounded it, it was over a land of pure white, the single streak of black running across it to a tower of osidian. As he traveled along it, the path started to thin. Thinner and thinner, forcing Naruto to run to try and reach the safety of the building. Below him, emptiness, nothingness, an abyss of never ending white. As he reached the end of the path, he made a final leap to reach the building. He landed, just short of the edge of the platform, also made of the darkness that he had traveled on. The building had large letters carved into it, spelling out in intricate caricature, "Darkness." And then the swirling vortex that was so far behind him vanished, leaving him stuck on the platform, surrounded by nothing but the white. The building, or what he thought was a building, had no doors, and was just an obelisk made of pure black stone. _

_Naruto turned away from it, and looked out over the sea that he was trapped in. In truth, he felt fear. He was alone, separate from all that he cared about. He knelt down, and put his head between his legs. He started shaking, crying without tears. He felt he would die there, without anyone to even attempt to help him.

* * *

_

_Enter – Bedroom, One O' Clock PM._

Naruto, in his fitful dreams, had managed to roll off of the bed and onto the ground. The resulting pull on the chain tugged Ino over, and woke her up. Still groggy, she sat up slowly and rubbed at her eyes while holding her sleeve with her fingers lightly. The resulting mental image that could be created from that was actually rather attractive.

After she stretched a little bit, she looked around to see what had woken her up. Not seeing much, she finally looked at her leg and saw the chain, but no Naruto. Following said metal with her hand, she found it went off the edge, and even in the shadows of her room, she could see Naruto tossing about, as though he were in extreme pain. Ino quickly got off the bed and reached to wake him, until a bad flail scared her away from it. Holding her hands to her chest, she debated on trying to wake the boy, at the risk of getting hurt herself.

* * *

_Enter – Dreamscape_

_As Naruto clutched at his own head, he felt a slight tremor. Opening his eyes, he saw the darkness beneath him fading. Turning around again, the tower was as well. His eyes wide with fear, he desperately tried to find a door so he could escape, logic failing him, but it was too late. The ground disappeared completely, and he fell. But it got worse. The darkness formed again, a gigantic beast of shadow sprang from the nothing, it's gaping maw flying towards him. In the darkness in the mouth, a pair of blood red eyes appeared, before being engulfed themselves, a glimpse of a red tail showing for just but a moment before vanishing. Naruto was soon to follow, until an immense shaking snapped him out of his reverie. He wasn't going to go down without a fight. So, he moved. Not realizing that this was his own mind, in which he controlled everything, he instinctively used his power to attack the beast, lashing out at it with a right hook. When it connected and the monster was sent flying, he pressed his advantage, beating it with his own two fists, determined to survive this encounter. He would be damned if he went down before OR after becoming Hokage!_

_And with one last powerful punch, the monster exploded, the darkness spreading out and turning all the white black, before it faded in places to reveal the first place he had encountered those red eyes that he saw. Back at the Kyuubi's cage, where it slept, unaware that it had been part of that hellish nightmare of Naruto's. Then the shaking ensued once more, and everything, including the spiky-haired shinobi himself, faded to white once more.

* * *

_

_Enter – Bedroom, One Seventeen, PM._

"…ruto! Na…to! W…..p! Naru…ke up! Naruto? Naruto, wake up!"

The shouting and shaking from the blonde girl in pajamas finally woke him, and Naruto jumped up, eyes darting around to ensure he was safe. When he was finally appeased with his analysis of the room, he collapsed onto his hands and knees and dry heaved. Even though he was happy he was alive, he was still extremely disoriented and uncomfortable. Ino gently placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him in a way that suggested she wanted to comfort him, but didn't want to pry. In response, he simply nodded his head and told her with his eyes in order to say something along the lines of, "It's fine, let's just sleep."

And sleep they did. Ino helped him back onto the bed, and as they fell asleep, without even realizing it, she gently embraced him, some kind of maternal instinct to comfort a child kicking in, despite her age.

* * *

_Six Hours Later._

The sun, above the horizon by a good amount, finally shone into Ino's window. The sun hit the girl's face, her eyes fluttering open. And her first reaction of the day? To flip out and kick Naruto, knocking him into the wall where he very quickly woke up.

Her reason for this was that, sometime after they fell asleep again, Naruto had flipped over in her arms. This had loosened the buttons that kept her pajama top shut, and after she shifted to subconsciously accommodate this, the threads holding the buttons had…well…broken. So, upon waking up, Ino discovered Naruto's face resting on her partially exposed breasts, and had reacted as a girl her age would react to seeing herself in such a position after waking up. All of the events that had happened the night before was long forgotten, stored only in the deepest, darkest regions of their minds. And so, Ino proceeded to beat Naruto into blissful unconsciousness, and then got dressed very quickly, wearing a red version of the outfit from the day before. Naruto woke up shortly after she had brushed out her hair, which she left down, and they went down the stairs to let Ino's parents let her know they were going to leave. A light blush was on Ino's face as they left the room.

* * *

As they reached the living room, the pair got an unlikely sight to behold. Ino's mother was currently attempting to pull, of all things, a seemingly rusty spoon out of Inoichi's ear…

Flashback to the night before – 11:45 PM

_As Inoichi was satisfied that Ino was safe from the clutches of a boy her age, he started to get up and jump down, before realizing that he was stuck in a crouching position. As he tried to fix his apparently stuck spine, he forgot his vantage point. When he finally got his back back into position, he slipped, and fell down. And what was sitting on the ground, wide-side up? The spoon that he had thrown away earlier. It had landed and stuck with the handle in the ground, and wanted its non-specific revenge for being thrown away without use. And it was gonna go in one of two painful places. Luckily for the spoon, and somewhat for Inoichi, it went into his ear, and was stopped just before the ear drum. So, as he pushed himself up, Inoichi's adrenaline from falling prevented him from feeling the pain, but he still felt the spoon just…in there. _

"_Ho…hon…HONEY! GET THE MED-KIT AND SEND FOR THE HOSPITAL! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!" he had shouted._

"_What is it dear? Did you accidentally mentally scar someone into a coma again?"_

"_NO! Oh, and look up 'Spoon in ear' in the medical terms dictionary, please."_

_"For what reason?"_

"_Time is of the essence here."_

Flashback End

And so there he was, spoon stuck in his ear, as a medical shinobi jumped in through the window and had a look of disbelief. One of the best shinobi they had, loosing to a spoon…what was the world coming to?

So Ino and Naruto left to start their day, after Ino's mother waved them off with a twitching and practically angry smile. It was better not to stay there, anyway.

* * *

**THERE! And I'm sorry, I couldn't resist the Family Guy reference, for those of you that got it. It was just…so worth it when I thought of the situation. Anyway, please review as usual. And, here are the results for the voting as of now!**

**Naru x Kin – 2 votes **

**Naru x Saku – Happy to say, NEGATIVE two votes now.**

**Naru x Tema – One Vote **

**Naru X Hina - One Vote**


	7. Team Mates:  Flames of YOUTH!

Here's chapter seven for all of you. I'm glad to see that I'm getting all positive reviews so far, though the voting is getting a little…disturbing….ANYWAY.

Disclaimer: I don't know how many times I'll say it, but I own nothing in this fanfiction except for my own plotline twists and modifications. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now, GET OFF MY BACK.

Shortly after leaving Ino's home, and getting as far away as possible before that spoon was removed from Inoichi's ear, the currently inseparable duo quickly decided that they would attempt to break the shackles, one way or another. So, they moved to one of the rarely-used training grounds. A quick beating after Naruto suggested cutting one of their feet off later, and they started discussing how to do it.

"Naruto, I'm telling you, we've gotta drop something heavy on it!"

"There's no way that'll work! We've gotta use something sharp and cut it!"

"Yeah, and where are we going to get anything sharp enough to cut through it?"

"Uh…good point…well, why not try picking the lock?"

"What lock? There's no keyhole! Asuma-sensei locked them with his chakra, meaning that's the only way to get them off! I think my ankle is starting to chafe, too…"

"Ino-chan, we've gotta agree on SOMETHING already! Gah, this is worse than what happened with Sasuke-teme back in the academy…" Naruto said, bringing up unwanted memories and shivering from the severe mental scarring that occurred because of it. Meanwhile, in the depths of his mind, Kyuubi was laughing his ass off after he had brought the memory up for a cheap laugh.

"Well, it's not my fault you ca- wait a minute…when did you start adding the '-chan?'" she said, raising an eyebrow at the sudden and unexpected addition of the suffix. Had he been doing that the entire time, or was it just out of the blue?

"Uhm…not sure…you don't mind, right?"

"N-no…it was just surprising…" Ino managed to stutter out, a light blush spreading across her face. It was kind of embarrassing, after the hours they spent chained together like this. When she finally looked up from staring at the ground to avoid eye contact, she found Naruto attempting to break the chain with a rather large rock. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face as she gave him an incredulous look, before slapping him up the head for being a moron.

Soon after, Ino fished a kunai out of her hip pouch and started to cut the metal, only going so far as to scrape a few metal filings off of it. Groaning, she tossed the now dull kunai back into the pouch with mild disgust. Placing a palm on her face, she contemplated how exactly they would go about this, before hearing the chain being moved and being flipped onto her back. Looking up, she saw Naruto actually chewing on the chain, as though that would work. So, to make him stop, even though he really hadn't done anything wrong, she flipped herself back up, and kicked him in this face on her way up there. The spiky-haired blonde boy was soon on the ground, eyes unfocused to show that he was seeing stars. However, he was soon snapped out of it as the two heard the sounds of hands and legs impacted against a log. It was a fairly common sound now, but what threw them off was the rapid pace at which it was occurring. Looking around, they finally found the source of the noises.

The source was a boy about a year older than them, wearing a green jumpsuit with the hitai-ate of Konoha worn around his waist as a belt. He had a perfect bowl cut hair style, and extremely bushy eyebrows. His eyes were like those one would find on a Daruma, and he was currently beating a poor, defenseless training log into oblivion. Punches, kicks, everything was happening so fast that the two couldn't even follow his movements. Eventually, the strange looking boy stopped, and placed his hands together in what looked to be a meditative stance. Then, he slid into a fighting stance. One arm behind his back, the other in front, palm up and arm extended, one leg stretched out and the other bent, supporting his weight. With a fire in his eyes, the boy blurred out of sight, reappearing behind the log and sending a wicked kick at it. The impact ripped the log off of it's base, sending it flying away. Not even a second later, he was there again, kicking it into the air. He kept getting behind it, kicking and punching it higher and higher, before Ino and Naruto could barely even see him.

He just kept going, eventually turning into but a dot in the sky. When the two blinked, he was gone, the log flying still higher. A sudden crash to the side caught their attention, and a tree fell. Another crack, and the tree exactly opposite of it fell as well. The green-garbed boy was using the trees to launch himself higher the entire time! And not a moment too soon, they heard yet another crack, and the training log slammed into the ground, creating a large crater. And a few seconds after that came the boy, crashing into it with a vicious axe kick, shattering it and creating an even larger hole in the ground. When the dust settled, the boy stood up and walked out of the crater, having not even broken a sweat, but he was now going on to himself about….something. 

"YOSH! Now that my warm-up is completed, I shall work on ten at once! And if I can not keep them all in the air for at least one minute, I shall do 1000 push-ups! And if I can not do that, I shall do 10,000 sit-ups! And if I can not do that I shall…" and so he continued on as he set up the ten logs, giving himself a series of seemingly impossible tasks that he would do if he couldn't complete the first. Once the logs were all set up, he slid back into his stance and kicked one high into the air, before rushing to the next one in his circle and doing the same. He repeated this process before starting to blur back and forth between the logs, knocking them back into the air with various moves, ranging from kicks and punches, to head-butts and elbow thrusts. And exactly one minute later, as though this insane child had a perfect internal clock, he blurred yet again and the logs starting flying in random directions, before getting shattered like their predecessor. The last log, however, flew towards Naruto and Ino, and before the boy got there, Naruto miraculously knocked it away…with his head. Of course, never mind the fact that he wasn't even looking at the log…and was just sitting there. He still stopped it, right? After he had shaken off the daze from said flying wooden block of pain, he looked up to see the boy in green looking down at him with a very serious look, before he spoke.

"I am sorry, fellow shinobi! Had I known you were there, I would not have kicked it at you! I am afraid that my flames of youth were burning too brightly for me to take notice, and for that I apologize!"

Flames…of youth? What the hell was this guy on?

"Uh…it's…okay…I think…sorry to interrupt your training and all, but…who the hell are you?" Ino asked, not even giving Naruto the chance to have his angry outburst. She could see him fuming already.

"Yosh! My name is Rock Lee! I am currently training to be a Taijutsu master, as I can not use Ninjutsu, as you have just watched. And you two are?"

"Well, I'm Yamanaka Ino, and this…"

"The name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! And I'm going to be Hokage some day!"

"Greetings, Ino-chan, Naruto-kun! It is a pleasure to meet you, and that is a great goal Naruto-kun! Your flames of youth burn brighter than most!" Lee said, his eyes still appearing to be aflame. Naruto, however, was having a few thoughts of why his eyebrows were so big, and Ino was thinking of screwing with Sakura by introducing this guy to her. Something told her that it would be quite worth it to see how that would play out. She didn't even realize that he had called her "-chan."

"Naruto-kun, Ino-chan, would you like to train with me?"

"Ano, Lee, sorry. We would, but this shackle is kinda keeping us stuck…" the platinum-blonde said, as she scratched her cheek a little. Lee stared down at it, and you could practically SEE the cogs turning in his head.

"Yosh! If I cannot break this chain, then I will run around Konoha three times! And if I cannot do that, I shall climb the Hokage Monument with nothing but my teeth! And if I cannot do that, I sha-"

"YO, BUSHY-BROWS! Get on with it'ttebayo!" Naruto burst out, getting irritated with the challenge issuing. And so Lee set forth to break the chain…

There we are. Chapter done. I've introduced Lee and his…eccentricity…and I know it's sudden, but I've started putting the "Dattebayo" thing in with Naruto's speech. I'd go back and edit it in everywhere else, but I'm too lazy.

Current Voting Results:

Ino x Naruto: 3.5

Naruto x Temari: 1.5

Naruto x Kin: 3

Naruto x Hinata: 2

Naruto x Sakura: I…almost give up on this one…considering she has gotten NEGATIVE 5 votes so far…

Character Bash/Kill votes:

Sakura: 3

Sasuke: 1


	8. Freedom and Restraint

**Alright, I know I've been missing for…a really long time, and you people have most likely given up on this story entirely. In truth, it was a combination of things…in other words, school stuff, lack of motivation, and…plain old laziness. I apologize, and in return, bring you this chapter. I hope it makes up for it, a little bit.**

* * *

When we last left off, Lee had gone on one o his little rants, challenging himself more and more…until our blonde little hero decided to snap him out of it. Of course, remember that this chain is unbreakable. It survived a minefield, Naruto's teeth, a kunai, a rock…so what are the odds that one of the (physically) strongest shinobi in Konoha could do it? Low. Very, very low. As in…the value may as well be negative. But, keeping with the story. The first of the many things that Lee attempted was to use his weights. Before he had begun his training routine, he had taken them off so that he could do the incredible feats seen earlier. Of course, he COULD have gone harder, but his sensei had all but forbidden the use of _those,_ so he couldn't use them without his permission. So the next best thing was removing the weights that he was carrying over to the two blondes, the chain stretched out between them. Holding the weights up above his head, Lee gave the two a little warning.

"Yosh, are you two ready? These things are a little heavy, so you need to be prepared for the tension," he said, not showing any form of strain from the weights, prompting Spikey's response.

"C'mon, Bushy-Brows! I can take on anything'ttebayo!"

"Well, if you say so, Naruto-kun. Here…it…comes…!"

And with that final word, he tossed the weights up, before they plummeted almost straight down, hitting the chain down and dragging it down, crashing into the ground. This resulted in a very, very large cloud of dust and debris, which shouldn't be possible if one considers the height from which they fell. As the dust cleared, Naruto and Ino's silhouettes could be seen. Even more, and it was obvious what had happened. As soon as the chain got caught by the weights, the two weren't able to support it. As such, they were dragged forward towards each other rapidly. Unable to stop the momentum, the two crashed into each other, foreheads meeting in a very, very painful collision. More painful for Ino, though, considering that she Naruto was wearing his hitai-ate (forehead protector) where it was actually supposed to be – on his FOREHEAD. Not wearing it on his waist, like a trendy belt. But, that's what she gets for misusing shinobi equipment. Next thing you know she'll be cutting her hair with a kunai, or using a senbon as a tooth pick.

Anyway. The blow to the head was almost enough to knock her out, but all it did was leave a very painful-looking red mark across her forehead in the shape of the hitai-ate. The only spot that wasn't red was the center of the mark, which was in the shape of Konoha's symbol. As the two got up, it was obvious that Ino was a hurting puppy.

"Itei, itei…that…was not a good idea…agh…" Ino said, rubbing her forehead with tightly shut eyes, "Can we please…not…do that again…?"

"Gomen-nasai, Ino-chan! I did not realize just how heavy my weights would be in comparison to your strength!"

The above statement merely got a glare from the girl, as Naruto snickered in the background. Which also quickly got a glare, shutting him up almost instantly. As the saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And there was a lot of scorning going on.

So that method failed. The next would be for Lee to physically attack the damn thing. Grabbing the chain, the jumpsuit-wearing Genin attempted to push on the chain with his foot. All this earned was some sweat and unnecessary energy use. So, he attempted to just pull them apart. The only problem with this is that the bandages on his hands are there for protection, not extra grip. As such, the metal of the chain slipped from his left hand. Which, due to the proximity of the orange-clad boy, ended up smacking him right in the face. Considering Lee's strength, disaster was sure to follow. Disaster in the form of Naruto being flung a good ten feet away from the impact. Ino started to laugh at his misfortune, until she was quickly dragged along with him, crashing on top of him, getting a rather loud grunt of pain. Karma is hard to avoid…especially when said karma is attached to your ankle by a chain. And said chain was indestructible. It makes one feel kind of bad for the two…until one considers that the two laugh at each other's pain. But this time, there was no laughing. As their positions made that nearly impossible. Naruto being laid flat on his back, with Ino on top, her head managing to land directly on his stomach when she landed. Which was Naruto's second most sensitive spot.

"Hnng…Ino…I don't mind this, really…but could you get off? You're sorta heavy…" he said, coughing between some words. Of course, telling a girl she's heavy in any context or setting can only end badly. And as such, Ino got on her knees, glared at him, and punched him right where her head was, before standing and whipping her head away from him.

"_Hmph…I'm not heavy…I'm nice and thin and beautiful…hmph…stupid Naruto…" _she thought, her face reddening slightly from anger. If anything, she would not be insulted. Even if it was a perfectly innocent statement from a blockhead.

"A-ah…I apologize again…I did not mean to hit you…as punishment, I shall run around Konoha five times on my hands! And off I GO!" Lee shouted, flipping onto his palms and taking off. The other two blondes looked on in disbelief as he actually did it. Both of them thinking the same thing – he has to be crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Shading her eyes and glancing up at the sun, Ino determined the approximate time of day. From her calculations, it was about two o' clock. The meeting was going to be happening soon. Signaling to her teammate, the two left the supposedly abandoned training ground and went for their own, only a five minute walk away.

* * *

Upon arrival to the field, Ino and Naruto noticed something right away – both Chouji and Asuma were already there, the former simply munching away on his chips, the latter sitting in front of a board with small, elongated hexagons on both sides, writing on them. A Shogi board. Similar to chess, this Japanese game was used in the shinobi world for strategy and intelligence training. If you can beat an expert at Shogi, then you can make a good strategy in the field. It all depended on which type of person you were. Someone like Asuma, who planned everything out ahead of time, or one like Naruto, who effectively did whatever the hell he felt like at the moment he did it. Spontaneous, in other words.

"Alright, you two," Asuma started, grinning like something good happened, "Did you learn your lesson?"

Ino spoke first, cutting off Naruto.

"Hai, Asuma-sensei! As teammates, we have to work together against our foes, or else we will be easily defeated."

"Good, good, Ino. And Naruto, in this punishment, who was your enemy?"

"It was…uh…I think it was the chain and life, really. Since the chain prevented us from moving around alone, and that made daily activity more difficult…" Naruto said, blushing slightly as he remembered how they woke up that morning. Difficult, yes. Worth it? Possibly. Who knows anymore.

"Well now, that's correct. I'm glad you learned your lesson…now then, let me just get these off of you…" the chain-smoker said, kneeling down and de-shackling them, and holding up the chains, "And there. You're free to move alone again. I hope you appreciate this lesson."

And as he put the chains off to the side to take care of later, he didn't notice them turn to dust as soon as he turned his back. The chains, to restrain their chakra, used some of it to keep itself unbreakable. Because the chakra wore out, the accumulated strain caught up, and it just…disintegrated.

"So, here's today's lesson plan. For the first part of this meeting, you will each play me in a round of Shogi, in the order of Chouji, Ino, and then you, Naruto. After that, Chouji will spar against Ino, and Naruto will spar with me. Sound fair?"

All three nodded, though Naruto with some hesitance. He had never played Shogi or any game like that, and he got stuck against the Jounin. Life really isn't fair.

* * *

_Enter – Mindscape_

_The black pipes that had been leaking before had now broken open, a flood of black water-like substance flowing into the water, dying it the same deathly color. The Kyuubi sat in its cage, glaring at the gunk as it tried, with no avail, to make it into his cage. The power preventing him from escaping was preventing the darkness from entering. Convenient. But also inconvenient. Since the darkness seemed to just…eat through his demonic chakra, he couldn't restrain it. The damn stuff was just too powerful. In fact, it had more influence. The most he could do was block off the hall that led to Naruto's memories, but that couldn't last long. He had to have a constant flow to prevent it from taking over. Glaring down at the bottom of his cage, Kyuubi noticed a pair of yellow eyes that vanished as soon as he caught them, as though they were watching for his inevitable slip-up. And if they got access to the boy's memories…then it would take over. They would all be damned._

_Another tendril of darkness crawled up the bar of the cage before a burst of light destroyed it. Whatever was doing it was very, very strong, and the exact opposite of the darkness that swirled around in the water. Strong enough to imprison one considered a demon god, and strong enough to repel a being stronger than that…it was intriguing._

* * *

**Okay, for some reason, I got motivation out of nowhere to write this. And I will be writing more, so no more complaining (you know who you are).**

**On that note, Sakura has gotten yet another vote to die or be bashed. But please stop voting for that. She's a necessary part of the story, later on. But not for a long time. You'll see.**

**Ino has also gotten another pairing vote, so she seems to be winning. Weird…**

**Please take your time when deciding, too. I'll have bonding chapters for the others.**

**And finally, FanFiction hates me. The dividers disappeared in most of the chapters, so…yeah. Using my own.**

**Please read and review. And by review, I mean GIVE. ME. CONSTRUCTIVE. REVIEWS. As in, I demand you give me ADVICE.**

**Oh, almost forgot…I do not own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts related stuff. The most I have is a few games, and I don't even own the licensing. So nyeh. Lemme alone.**


	9. Of Shogi and Meat

**Okay, sorry for the long wait, everyone. I've been having…let's say personal issues. A bit of a mess has been going on, and I haven't had the will to write.**

…**that, and I kinda forgot my own UserName and P-Word for a bit. Aren't I special?**

**Anyway, onto the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Dunno why I'm doing this, but whatever. I own nothing from Naruto and Kingdom Hearts or whatever else I use, the only thing I own are my own ideas. Sometimes, not even those, though.**

* * *

"What…how…how the hell did you DO that?" the gruff voice of Sarutobi Asuma rang out in the training ground. For the fifth time in a row, our blonde haired protagonist has managed to beat him in his own game of Shogi, somehow creating strategies on the fly and using moves that would be considered idiotic and…pretty much everything Naruto is. With eye twitching and teeth grinding, Asuma reset the board once more, intent on beating the spiky haired goofball at the game, all while wondering how the hell the kid was beating him in such odd ways.

"Dunno, Sensei. I just moved the pieces around and gotcha

This elicited a small glare from Sarutobi, which was quickly fixed by a drag on his favorite brand of cigarettes. For reasons unknown, this brand shall not be named, due to copyright infringements, unoriginality, perhaps some other things. But, that's not important at the moment

"Whatever it is, I'm going to find out, and then I'm going to kick your sorry little orange ass…" he mumbled, the cancer-stick burning away a little bit more with each breath. It was incredibly infuriating to lose five out of five matches to someone who hadn't even HEARD of the game until that day.

Ino and Chouji were still sparring, Ino attempting to not use her Shintenshin (Mind Body Transfer), and Chouji simply attempting to not crush her with his…big bones. He shall from now on be referred to as such by the author, simply because of the fact that the pain would be too much to handle otherwise.

But back to the main idea, here. With each piece that Asuma moved, Naruto made a random attempt and took out one of the ones that Asuma HADN'T moved. As the sensei's pieces started to dwindle, a vein started pulsing on his forehead, and he nearly bit the cigarette in half. Naruto's specialty was rather easy to recognize; Aside from having massive chakra quantities for his age and being able to master high-ranking jutsu with relative ease, he was also excellent at making strategies on the fly. Whenever it seemed like something was failing, the orange ball of energy was able to think up something new and completely screw up the counter-strategy. It was almost as if he was psychic. As it was, he had only lost three pieces so far. And by so far, we mean that he's only lost three pieces the entire time. All three part of a strategy to win. However, with a grin that said he was going to win this match, Asuma took one of Naruto's "key" pieces, and leaned back with crossed arms

"Good luck beating this one, kiddo. I've never lost with this strategy. Ever."

"Sensei, I think you should look at the board…"

And at that remark, he looked down, expecting to see some kind of silly error on his part. What he did see was infuriating, depressing, and joy-inducing all at the same time. The entire time that Asuma was working his strategy, Naruto had been placing his pieces in key points all around the board. Anything that the bearded Jounin attempted would result in his most vital piece, the Shogi equivalent to a King in Chess, would be taken out, thus costing him yet another match. With a cry of what could have been rage, could have been sorrow, Asuma flipped the board over and preceded to smash it to pieces with his foot, taking good measure to crush all of Naruto's pieces one by one. All this got out of him, however, was the standard Naruto laugh, making him seem like a fool for freaking out. But, who can blame him. He was beaten SIX times by the most idiotic shinobi in all of the Great Nations. And tricked too, apparently

At this time, Ino and Chouji came back to the clearing, Ino looking the worse for wear. Her "new" outfit was covered in rips and tears, her hair was a ruffled mess, and her face looked like someone had slapped it with a giant hand. From all this, we can gather that Chouji used his Family Skills to effectively "pimp slap" her when she let her guard down, thus ending in her defeat. Said healthily plump boy was simply munching away on his chips, even as Ino limped over to a tree and fell down against it, making a low pitched groan. Whatever else happened in that spar must have been rather painful for her, considering the way she was half-asleep. Well…asleep isn't the proper term. Let's use the term "unconscious." That's much more fitting.

Glancing at each of the Genin in turn, Asuma attempted to decide what to do. Originally, he had planned to have Chouji come in and take Naruto's place, then have the two blondes spar while he played Chouji…but that was not really much of an option at this point. First off, due to Naruto, he wasn't very sure if he ever wanted to play the damned game again. He had never lost that badly, not even to Shikamaru…which was saying something. Second, there was the case of Ino…with the condition she was in, another spar wasn't much of an option either. That also meant she wasn't in much of a condition to do…well, anything. No missions of any rank, no spars, hell, she'd be lucky if she made it HOME without passing out in the middle of the street. And with the things that go on in the village at times, that really wasn't a good idea. It didn't help that he had utterly thrashed his other two students in the game earlier...so, they wouldn't want to play again either…this whole day had basically gone to hell and back.

* * *

_Enter- Naruto's Mindscape_

For such a powerful substance, it had a surprising weakness. While the darkness seemed to feed off of negative emotion and bad memories, it was also weakened by positive thoughts and continued thinking. Once Naruto had started to play Shogi, it had started recoiling from the halls, chamber…even going so far as to retreat into the pipes, the cracks and holes disappearing entirely. The Kyuubi noted all this with a foxy smirk.

_**Kid, I think I'm going to be giving you some pretty bad headaches soon. Gotta keep that chimp-brain of yours active...keheheheh…"**_

Even as these thoughts flowed through the Kyuubi's technically non-existent mind, a small pair of beady, yellow eyes stared at him from a darkened corner of a room. The beast thought it could be laughed at…could be held back. Well, eventually, it'd get stronger…get stronger and stronger, until it eventually absorbed the very demon itself, became a God…it'd take the boy, make him into a suitable shell…and destroy everything…everything…everything…EVERYTHING!

* * *

_Enter - Real World_

Glancing around, whipping his head to and fro, Naruto looked confused.

"Uh…did any of you guys hear something really creepy?"

"Kid, I think you thought too hard…your brain is on the fritz now. No one said anything," Asuma replied, throwing away his old cigarette butt and lighting up a new one.

"But…but…I HEARD it loud and clear! It's like it was actually in my HEAD!"

Shaking his head with a mirthful smile, Asuma placed his hand on Naruto's head and gave his hair a tussle.

"C'mon, let's give that wet noodle you call a brain a rest and go get something to eat, my treat."

Of course, even as the overjoyed Naruto and Choji pranced around and chanted "Free Food" over and over, and Ino lay in a semi-conscious heap on the ground, the sensei's thoughts traveled elsewhere.

_This…can't be good…is the Kyuubi contacting him? Is the seal…breaking? Tch…hate to do it, but I've gotta get Uncle Hiruzen to get some ANBU to watch him…can't have anything demon-y happening…_

But, the thought never even made it to his face, a smile plastered on as he and the other three walked their way to the hibachi steakhouse that he usually treated his Genin squads to. And as you've come to expect by now, Ino wasn't walking…just being carried, by none other than Naruto, come to save the day. She wasn't on her fellow blonde's mind, at the moment, though. All he was thinking about was how much he would be able to get away with eating before Asuma made him stop, or the owners kicked him out. Either way, he was going to eat like a damn king, even if it killed him. But if anyone knows Naruto, that won't be happening any time soon.

* * *

Upon arriving at the restaurant of choice, both Asuma and Naruto expected immediate resistance at the door, only to be surprised when no one stopped them, and a young looking girl (most likely a new employee) welcomed them in with a warm smile and greeting.

"Welcome to Ryori no Osama. Feel free to take any seat; we don't have many people today."

The only abnormal thing about the greeting was the fact that she seemed to not even notice Ino hung over Naruto's shoulders like a wet towel. Then again, in a shinobi village, it could very well be a normal occurrence. But that doesn't really matter right now, does it?

Upon seating themselves, the four…well, once again, three…opened some menus, checking to see what exactly was available for food. Though Naruto did immediately look for ramen, he wasn't completely unsurprised to see that they didn't have any. It wouldn't be all that bad to order something else, considering Asuma was paying, but he was sure to ask the wait staff why the hell they didn't make the most delicious source of happiness and joy ever invented.

Sadly, he would never get that chance. Once he had ascertained everyone's wishes (sans Ino, of course), he had waved over a waiter. Due to the large man sitting on the outside of the booth, the waiter didn't notice Naruto until he made it to their table. However, the glare that WOULD have been able to melt steel was cut short by an intimidating glare on Asuma's part, one laced with killing intent. As the man took the orders, he quickly fled to the food storage area, his mind frazzled and his clothes barely saved from soiling.

"Ne, Asuma-sensei, why don't more places serve ramen? It's the most delicious thing on the planet!" the orange funball exclaimed, preventing himself from shouting and throwing his arms around. Even HE had manners, albeit slim. When ramen came up, he was almost a perfect expert.

"Well, Naruto, ramen isn't really a dish most restaurants would think to make. It's not very healthy, most people don't eat it every day like you, and sometimes it's more costly to make than selling it makes up for."

"Ohhh…but how can people not eat it all the time? It's so wonderfully delicious in every way!"

With a sigh, Asuma simply shook his head, rejoicing in the fact that his most energetic student's attention was dragged away by a new waiter coming and placing the various meats ordered in their respective places, the first servings on the grill in the center of the seating, and the others on a platter off of the grill, so that they could make more when they were done with the first.

Thankfully, the grills were powered with high-strength burners, making the meat (and vegetables, in Asuma's and Ino's cases) cook thoroughly and quickly. Since Ino couldn't eat, because of her current condition, most of the healthier stuff was for the "hard working" sensei.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto and Chouji lived up to their reputations as human vacuums, sucking up every piece of food they ordered and then some. It was almost as if they were in an eating competition, and Asuma nearly wept for his soon-to-be-empty wallet. They had already attracted the attention of numerous other people, who had come mostly because someone in the restaurant had gathered them for the one reason of watching this miraculous feat occur. The only surprising thing so far was that Naruto had actually managed to outpace the Akimichi by a little, slowly earning his place among the ranks of the clan…not that he really even knew it, of course.

By the time the two had even considered stopping, the waiters and waitresses refused to bring any more food, and Asuma was attempting to guard what was left of his poor, deflated wallet. As Naruto leant back with a bulging belly and a contented sigh, Chouji leant forward and placed his forehead on the edge of the table, wide-eyed at losing at eating, one of the few things the clan was well-known for.

"Haaaah, that was great, huh? I've never eaten so much in my life!" the spikey haired blonde boy said, unzipping his thick coat to reveal the normally scrawny body underneath.

"Uh-huh…I don't think I've ever spent so much in one place…"

"Can't believe I lost…so…much…meeeeeeat…urgh…"

Since it should be fairly obvious who these statements belong to, we'll just leave them alone, for now. At the moment, though, our main focus is on what's happening, and not what's being spoken of.

After a few minutes of digesting and lamenting, Asuma decided it was about time for the group to split ways for the day. He wasn't known for long team meetings, or even very good training sessions. For some reason, though, along with Kakashi and the others, he was one of the best Jounin instructors, able to produce Chuunin-capable and even Jounin-capable shinobi from time to time. Why Kakashi was considered one of the best he would never know, considering this year's team was the only one he's ever passed.

"Alright, everyone. I'm going to say that today was a success, though moreso for some of us than others," he said, an odd look sent in his shortest Genin's direction, "and it's about time we got going. Since Chouji seems to be having stomach problems, and I'm still grieving, it's up to you, Naruto, to bring Ino home. Understood?"

"Hell yeah, dattebayo!"

Satisfied with the answer, our gruff-looking Jounin and the fat- _big-boned_, sorry, Akimichi trudged out of the restaurant, as Naruto lifted Ino into his arms, bridal style. The glares that came from the other customers pretty much told the story of what they thought he was going to do with her, but none of them did anything. They knew what kind of protection he was under. However, as if to leave some kind of parting shot, or maybe out of true kindness, Naruto actually reached into his pocket, balancing Ino in one arm, and placed some money on the reception counter, before walking out. The girl at the entrance gladly took the money and placed it into the tip jar, fully aware of who the boy really was. Not everyone in Konoha thinks that the kid is a monster, you know.

* * *

The trip to Ino's home was rather uneventful, aside from the searing glares and the occasional "Demon!" or "Monster!" shouted from a far enough distance to avoid being identified. The only thing on Naruto's mind, at that particular moment, was how he was going to handle things once he got the girl to her home. If she didn't wake up and her father saw her, he'd most likely do horrible, horrible things. Mind-rape would not begin to describe it. The condition that Inoichi's little girl was in was bad enough, just looking at the tears in her clothes and scuffs on her skin. However, as he got within twenty feet of Ino's home, she stirred, eyes the color of the sky looking up at Naruto, with a dreamlike state in them…before her right foot planted itself firmly in his jaw, sending him sprawling along the road as she landed with catlike grace.

"The hell do you think you're doing? NO ONE can carry me like that, except…well, you know…" she started, slowly going off into that dream-state again, before Naruto snapped her out of it.

"I WAS carrying your unconscious ass back to your house so nothing bad would happen to you, but you can just forget it now, dammit."

"Wha…hey, wait, what? Get back here! Don't walk away…from…me…oh damn me," she sighed, limping the last ten feet to her door, "I'll apologize tomorrow…I think…I'll have to deal with my dear, dear father and all his strange fussing," He was more like a mother than her own mother was…and the opposite was true as well.

* * *

A few minutes after leaving Ino after her little fit, Naruto found himself leaning against a tree in one of the various training grounds, thinking about how he had reacted. While it was a bit harsh, he didn't know how else to respond. It was the same answer he gave anyone that yelled at him for doing a good deed.

_Feh…don't know why I help anyone…all I ever get is shit…maybe I should just go away, so no one has to deal with me anymore…_

Unbeknownst to the young protagonist, a black, mist-like substance was flowing off of his body, as his irises slowly started to become yellow. Darkness. The darkness feeding off of his thoughts, emotions, his weakened will. With each passing second, it grew closer to finally seeking its freedom, to finally acquiring the means by which to take the wo-

Naruto's attention was suddenly grabbed by the sound of a deep, solid "THUNK!" sound coming from a ways off, followed by the occasional grunt from what sounded like a girl. Even though most teams were usually split up by now, off doing their own things, it sounded as though someone around his age was still practicing. Finding the source of the noise, Naruto was amazed by what he saw.

The first assumption he made was right – it was a girl, and she was about a year or so older, making his age guess right. But that wasn't what had caught him. Quite rapidly, the girl was hurling weapons at several targets surrounding her, anything from shuriken to kunai to caltrops to anything else she had, the weapons just appearing in her hands. What was the big part was that this girl was hitting every single target dead center, and every human analogue training log in the places where vital organs would be located. Looking more closely at the girl, Naruto tried to get a glimpse of what she looked like. Chocolate brown hair, tied into two panda-ear like buns, smooth, even elegant facial features, deep brown eyes. Her body was slim, yet strong, indicating heavy training that pushed her limits, while keeping in mind her femininity. On this body was an oriental shirt, one that obviously wasn't from the country, and a pair of blue shinobi pants, the standard Kunai Pouch and Hip Pouches included, as well as the standard blue sandals.

"Woah…that's incredible!" the energetic and motor-mouthed blonde spouted, unaware of one of the most important rules of being a shinobi: surprise another shinobi, and expect to find yourself in a world of pain.

Nearly instantly, the girl "Eep!"'d in surprise, whirling around and hurling a handful of shuriken at the boy. With some insane flexibility for a boy, he dodged, the shuriken missing so narrowly that small nicks could be seen in his clothing.

"H-H-H-H-HEY! You could've killed me with those!"

But the girl wasn't listening. She was merely staring at him, an intense glare targeting the younger boy.

"That was the point…I NEVER miss…and you have the nerve to just come in here and make me miss?"

"But…but…you're practicing on still targets…I moved around them, you would have hit me if you practiced on moving targets…"

"…well…shut up! What's your name, anyway? It's rude to just sit there and be like that without giving a lady your name you know," the "mysterious" young girl said.

"O-oh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! You'd better get that memorized, 'cause I'm gonna be the next Hokage! Dattebayo!" he exclaimed, his trademark fox-grin and squinted eyes declaring to the world that he meant every single word of what he was saying.

_Naruto…so, this is the kid all the adults tell us to stay away from…he doesn't SEEM like much of a threat…he's…actually kind of funny. But…I think I can benefit from this… _she thought, staring down Naruto like he was a piece of fresh meat. In essence, right now, that's what he was.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Tenten, weapons expert of squad ten. And I like that idea of yours, practicing on moving targets…and you're my new target…"

This came with an evil grin, as she held up her hands to her sides, her arms crossed across her body. In each hand were four kunai, each one held between the fingers.

"Wait, WHAT?"

* * *

**And there you have it folks. New chapter, a little bit longer than usual, with some extra stuff in it. We get to meet Tenten for the first time, and don't worry, I'll be including Fatey as well. Eventually.**

**On that note, Ino and Hinata have gotten another vote each, though that means Ino is still winning. Yay, I think. Strangely enough, Sakura is still getting mixed feelings. Some people want her to just get killed, others want her to get beaten, others want things to happen that I'm not comfortable repeating. But, for the last time, she's GOING TO BE IMPORTANT. Though, I never said she wouldn't not be a freakin' bitch.**

**Read, review constructively, so on…and if you MUST yell at me for being a douche and not doing this for like, however long I was gone, PLEASE at least include some advice for the story so I don't have to bother reading the stupid two word reviews about me being a fail.**

**Peace, I'm out.**


	10. IGNORE THIS CHAPTER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

**I...am such a horrible person...it's been so long...well, now I don't really have any excuses to not do anything here, so it's high time I get started again.**

**Disclaimer: Must I say it again? Monkeys with typewriters. If true, we must be living in freakin' Oz or something...anyway...**

* * *

It was an unexpected occurrence that something so violent would awaken inside of Naruto. No one could expect for something like that evil beast to even exist, let alone reside within the confines of the Seal. But, it did happen.

Reviewing the tapes given to him by the ANBU, Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked and awed. Despite being trapped within the body of a twelve year old, despite having almost no real power in this world, the monster that possessed Naruto was still capable of defeating a nearly Chuunin level shinobi, something Naruto was only able to do when he went berserk with the same beast's powers. The poor girl, Tenten, from her file information, must be traumatized...to be assaulted by that monster...it was a miracle she was alive. Of course, both would be staying alive, regardless of what had occurred. It was a shame that the ANBU that filmed it had to be discharged for his suggestions of what to do with the boy...he was actually one of the better ANBU in the corps.

Sighing loudly, the Sandaime Hokage called out to his seemingly empty room, "Kisuke, Mura, go prep the...the captives...for my arrival...I'll be questioning them personally..."

With that, two spots on the adjacent walls shifted slightly, signaling the departure of the two ANBU. Leaning back in his chair, and turning off the television that was playing the tape, the old man sighed again. "Naruto-kun...how could this happen...?"

* * *

_Interrogation Cells_

Slowly waking up from his beauty nap, Naruto was shocked to find himself in the bleak and barren cell in which he was now located. Looking about in a panic, he tried to ascertain just where he was. As he started to move to get a better look, he felt cold metal on his wrists and neck, cold stone on his back. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of black chains and shackles holding him to the wall, another around his neck. Looking down, his legs were in a similar state, thick metal shackles chaining his ankles to the ground. His body had been stripped of his clothing, leaving him with nothing but a pair of prison-issue boxers, paper thin and useless against the cold stone floor. Inwardly, he began to panic, wondering if the villagers were finally going to kill him for good. Before his mind could really wander, though, a deep, gruff, male voice interrupted him.

"Oi, you two, wake up. Hokage-sama is going to come down here soon, to personally question you...lets hope he doesn't just outright kill ya, eh? HAHAHA!" he said, footsteps echoing away as the man walked away from the heavy metal door separating Naruto's cell from the hall. Another, lighter, decidedly female voice followed the male, stating, "You didn't have to be so mean...they're only kids..."

Unable to comprehend what the man had said, Naruto spent a small amount of time dwelling on it. Whatever had happened, it was enough to make the Sandaime Hokage, his Jii-chan, put him in a jail cell-like place, and want to question him...

However, something else grabbed his attention. The ANBU had spoken like there were two people in the room. Realizing that he hadn't really been paying attention to everything in the cell the first look around, he took another shot at it, finally noticing the other person.

"W-wha...Tenten! What are we doing here? What's going on?" he said frantically, trying to wiggle around and get out of his bindings.

"Why should I tell you...? You should know all about this..." she said dejectedly, curled up in a corner of the cell. She was in similar condition to him. Her hands and ankles, while not attached to a wall or floor, still had thick shackles that prevented much use. She was also stripped of her standard attire, given the necessary undergarments provided in most jails. Out of a sense of decency, Naruto made an effort not to look, a deep blush on his face.

"Seriously, Tenten, I have no idea what's going on...what happened...?"

Glancing up at him, Tenten's deep brown eyes, normally shining with happiness and joy, were now dead and flat, almost broken in nature. Hesitantly, she spoke, fear evident in her voice, "Y-you really don't know...? How...it's your f-fault..."

Hearing those words, the blonde's voice took on a shocked and bewildered tone as he said, "W-what? You're kidding, right...? I didn't do anything...a-all I remember is you trying to kill me...a-and...then nothing..."

Now it was Tenten's turn to be shocked. The boy that had nearly killed her, could have ripped her apart with those monstrous claws, had no idea what had occurred. But, when she thought back, she knew it wasn't quite him...those eyes...those horrible yellow eyes, filled with rage and cruelty...they weren't his. Those ocean blue eyes could never hold that kind of contempt...

As she dwelled on this thought, she heard her blonde acquaintance speak again, "H-hey...when did you get those tattoos...? They're so weird..."

Though Tenten was about to snap at Naruto for looking at her barely-clothed form, she realized that he wasn't looking at her like a pervert. No, he was looking at the jarring new marks that were spread across her body.

"T-these...? I...no...y-you'll hear during the questioning...Hokage-sama will hear what happened at the same time you do, Naruto..."

Part of the spiky haired boy's baser instincts could read that Tenten was incredibly sad right now...which, in turn, made him sad, since it sounded as though it were his fault. Sighing, he started fiddling with the chains again, attempting to get through them and get his hands free, at the least. However, the metal was too strong for him. Trying to use some chakra, he focused it towards his hands, only to find it dispersed before it could even start moving. Grunting and groaning, he kept trying for a few moments before going limp.

"G-god damnit...what is with these things?" he said angrily, pouting and glaring at the opposite wall. Tenten, in her ever-increasing knowledge of all things used as tools, replied.

"These are chakracuffs...they absorb chakra that is used to try and escape, and instead strengthen the metal...we aren't getting out of them unless we pick the locks...if I could get one of the little stone chips that broke off from the last guy in here, I could do it..."

Deciding that getting out of the cuffs would make being in the cell a LOT more comfortable, Naruto started looking around for one of those little chips...and noticed one conveniently located near his left foot, in the shape of a needle. Carefully sliding it with his foot, so as not to somehow break it, he rolled it over to Tenten. "There...that should at least get you out."

Surprised that Naruto would even consider helping her, after what she had done, she slowly picked up the stone piece, carefully slipping it into the keyhole on her hand shackles. Wiggling it around very carefully, she heard a click, and the cuffs fell off, clattering loudly. Repeating the process for her ankle cuffs, she shakily stood up and stretched, having been stuck like that for a few hours. Glancing over at her..."friend," still bound with chains, she carefully considered unchaining him, too...afterall, he DID give her the chance to get some freedom of movement again, after she killed him (sort of). Then again, he could be playing coy and still be that monster, and do horrible things to her once free...

As Tenten stood and contemplated, staring at her makeshift lock pick, Naruto resigned himself to being stuck in that position. It was obvious she resented him for something. Even he, the densest blockhead in all of Konohagakure, could tell when someone didn't like him. It had been that way ever since he was little; villagers pelting him with anything on hand, shinobi beating him nearly to death in alleyways, civilians glaring at him, muttering names under their breaths...it was all the same. Tenten was just another addition, someone to hate him until the day he died.

That is, until her heard the faint breath of said girl near him. Snapping back to reality, he saw Tenten standing beside him, carefully and slowly working at the lock at his wrists. Careful to keep his eyes on her hands, he watched, astounded at the fact that she was actually helping him, even after he had apparently done something really bad to her...

"Tenten...why are yo-"

"Because, you helped me, so I'm returning the favor...there, got it," she said, Naruto's hands falling to his sides, sore from being held up so long. As he forced them up so he could massage his chafed wrists, Tenten knelt down and started work on his ankle cuffs. Naruto remained speechless as he watched, afraid that saying even one word might make her change her mind. However, that wasn't necessary, as the stone piece finally snapped, the two pieces bouncing off of the floor. Tenten sighed.

"Well...at least you can use your hands now..." she said slightly dejectedly, moving to sit across from Naruto, clutching her knees to her chest. "Naruto...that really wasn't you doing all that...? Doing this," she said, gesturing to the marks on her body, "to me...you wouldn't ever be that heartless, would you...?"

Staring at her with a semi-happy, semi-sad smile, Naruto replied, "Of course not...never! I would never hurt my friends, no matter what! Dattebayo!"

Smiling weakly at his trademark statement, Tenten relaxed herself a little, his answer satisfying her fears.

As the two finally settled down, they heard footsteps echoing down the outside hall again. Both looked towards the door as the heavy locks on the other side came undone, the Hokage stepping in with two ANBU guards, the two from before. Looking at the two, he was shocked to see their bindings undone...only halfway in the blonde's case.

"What...Kisuke, Mura, I thought that you had searched them?"

"We did, Hokage-sama! They had nothing...I made sure of it!" the female exclaimed, equally as shocked. The male, Kisuke, noticed the broken stone piece near Naruto. "Hmph...looks like the brats figured another way around it..."

Sarutobi sighed deeply again. He was doing a lot of that as of late, it seemed. "Naruto, Tenten. Technically, when held in these cells, you are prisoners of Konoha. By undoing those chains, it can be considered an attempt to escape. Since you two are young, I won't punish you, but let that be a warning," he said, his eyes hardening as he stared at the two. Waving his hand, he dismissed the two ANBU, the cloaked shinobi locking the door behind them once more.

"Alright, children...I saw what went on...up to the point of Naruto-kun holding you up by your neck, Tenten-chan. Can either of you tell me what happened?"

Naruto was the first to reply, being the loudmouth that he was, saying, "I don't know, Jii-chan! I can't remember anything after getting...uhm...killed? I think..."

Flinching a bit at the last words, Tenten decided to fill him in. "W-well, Hokage-sama...that thing did this weird justu or something...it made these weird chain markings appear...and...it said something about controlling me...I think that when that thing is around...it can order me around, against my will...I-I passed out after that..."

Sarutobi gently stroked his beard, taking in these details. It was rather strange that the creature, or power, living inside Naruto had the ability to do such things...it certainly wasn't the Kyuubi doing it, either. "Well, children...that's a very interesting bit of information...and rather bothersome..." he said, still thinking about what to do.

"Jii-chan, w-what are you gonna do with me...?" the spikey blonde asked, a little worried.

"Nothing, Naruto...but...I want you to show me the seal."

"What seal? You mean those marks on my stomach...?" he questioned, tilting his head a bit. On the other side of the cell, Tenten listened in confusion. Seal? Naruto had a seal on him? SHE certainly didn't see one. However, when Naruto began focusing chakra, it became fairly clear. A round, incredibly complex sun-shaped seal placed right over his chakra core, something so intricate that Tenten could never even dream of starting it.

"W-woah...that's...that's incredible...! What on earth does that thing h-" she staretd, before she was cut off. As Naruto kept focusing his chakra, a black mist started seeping out. Naruto didn't notice it, his eyes shut as he focused. The Hokage didn't either, the substance seemingly invisible to him. However, to Tenten, it was clear as day. However, she didn't notice as the chain markings on her body grew a shade darking, starting to almost peel off her skin. A few moments of that, and another mark appeared on the seal; three claw like slashes straight down the mark, as though something had tried to claw its way free.

"Naruto...this is a grave matter...if there is truly something else in there, aside from the Kyuubi no Yo-" Sandaime started, before cutting himself off, frozen in place. Tenten was equally stunned.

"T-t-the Kyuubi n-n-no Youkou...? The demon that the Yondaime killed twelve years ago...?"

And with that statement, it all hit her. Twelve years ago, the Kyuubi was supposedly killed by the Yondaime Hokage...twelve years ago, Naruto was born...on the same day as the day of Kyuubi...which meant...

"Naruto is the Kyuubi!"

Pressing herself tight against the wall, Tenten's heart pounded. The fact that the demon that had killed so many in the village, had killed their most powerful Kage yet, had killed her parents, was Naruto...the monster could have killed her and finished off her family once and for a-

"No. Do not think of him as such. Naruto is the beast's container. He holds back the demon, prevents it from killing us all once more. The Yondaime sealed it into him, as the beast could not be killed. Naruto is no more a monster than you or me, Tenten. Do not ever treat him otherwise," Sarutobi said, his stare hard and cold.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama..."

Taking his gaze away from her, the old Hokage knelt down to inspect the seal. While he was nowhere near the level that his successor was, he could still tell what parts were damaged. Carefully examining each spot, he used some chakra on the tip of his finger to probe the stability of each mark. As Naruto tried not to giggle from the sensitive spots that the Hokage was touching, said shinobi leader began to check the claw marks. Upon touching it, though, Hiruzen yanked his hand back as though something had bitten him. Staring at the marks, he was astounded. A sentient being living within the seal, one that didn't want to be found out...this could mean both trouble and opportunity.

"Naruto...it seems as though the seal has been corrupted by another being. However, from the mark it left, it created something similar to a function of the original seal...in that you can draw on that being's power. I wouldn't try it too much, though," he said, his look warning Naruto of the danger, "though it would be worthwhile to know."

Turning to Tenten, the Hokage carefully considered what to do with her, considering her involvement in the situation. Eyeing the chain marks and recalling what was said about them, he decided a bit more questioning was necessary.

"Tenten...tell me, you live alone, correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Hm...well, considering those marks...and that we don't know if the beast has any power without controlling Naruto's body...Tenten, by order of the Hokage, you are to live within the abandoned apartment complex that Naruto uses."

Nodding at his orders, Tenten readily accepted it. For about half a second, that is, before she burst out, "WHAT? You want me to live with him! Hokage-sama, have you gone senile?"

Sighing once more, Sarutobi retorted with, "Now, now. You won't live in the same rooming. You'll have your own section of the apartments. I'll send over some shinobi to fix the building back up to spec. It is up to Naruto whether you will pay for any utilities you use there, however, as he is the technical owner of the building."

Naruto, just as startled and flabbergasted at the Hokage's decision, sat in a daze against his wall, as his seal faded away. The three claw marks, however, stayed in place.

"Now, all your possessions will be moved, free of charge, to the apartment next to his, and you will be provided the same utilities you were provided in your other home. This is more an arrangement of necessity than anything," he said, a more peaceful look on his face than before. "Once Naruto has a basic grasp over how to use those...chains...he will be able to provide control over them so that you won't be subject to the creature's will. Now, your clothes are located on the chairs just outside the cell. Naruto, we took the liberty of retreiving a new ensemble for you to replace the lost jumpsuit."

With that, the Hokage walked off, leaving the room, door unbolted by his ANBU, just in time for Naruto to snap out of his stupor. Blinking for a few moments, he finally realized what the Hokage had decided.

"WHAT?"

And somewhere in Kumogakure, a rockslide fell on a helpess hotel...empty, thankfully, for their off season.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

As the two Genin were guided up from their holding cell to the first floor of the complex that HELD the interrogation chambers, Naruto grumbled at his new outfit. First off, none of it was even orange, the best damn color in the world'ttebayo! Second, the coat he was provided was way too big...it fell down to his knees, the sleeves big enough to cover most of his hands.

Naruto was now where black shinobi pants, the same kind worn by Jounin, taped off at the ankle and everything, alongise the standard black shinobi sandals. He had his original pouches strapped on, his hip pouch hidden by his new coat, pure black in color. Underneath the coat he was provided with a fishnet shirt, staple to many shinobi outfits, the mesh dyed deep, deep red, the same color as the malignant chakra used by the beast sealed within.

"Gah, who the hell did Jii-chan let pick out this thing...? Grrr..." he mumbled, trying to adjust to the length and size of the oversized coat. Tenten giggled at him, talking in an almost mocking voice.

"Oh, come on...seriously, that orange was an eyesore...I mean, not only do you look waaay cooler, but now you can hide even better!"

"But I could already hide perfectly! I was like, number two in stealth training!" he said, flailing his arms to try and get his hands out of his sleeves.

"Exactly...can you imagine what you can do with DARK clothing? I mean, if you wore black, you could have been number one in the class!" Tenten exclaimed, her fear of him having subsided a lot. In front of them, the male ANBU from before hung his head in shame, contemplating how he went from being a Black Op to being an escort for children.

As Naruto and Tenten continued to argue back and forth about his new outfit (Naruto's most common answer being "But ORANGE'ttebayo!"), they were led up to the first floor, which just happened to be just behind the lobby of none other than the Hokage Tower itself. At this point, one could easily predict the freak out that occurred immediately afterwards, Naruto going on about how that place was underneath the most important building in Konoha. But before Naruto could shout out the Tower's secret to the whole world, the ANBU picked him up by his collar and literally kicked him out the door, Tenten walking up besides him just after he finished sliding to a halt on his face.

"Itei-tei-tei...that really wasn't needed...ttebayo..." he said, to which Tenten laughed at him, finding his pain funny.

"Pfft...haha...c'mon, Naruto...take me to that apartment building. You can give me a tour or something while we wait for my stuff to get there and those shinobi to start reparing it, okay?"

Naruto nodded, knowing where she was coming from. If she was going to live somewhere new, she'd want to know the layout and stuff not to get lost...or she was just bored. Either way. Getting up off of the ground, he started to run off, Tenten following after him quickly.

_A few minutes later again_

When they arrived at the apartment complex, panting from the run, to find that the shinobi assigned to moving Tenten's stuff had already gotten it done, the last of the boxes being dropped off at the stairs. Surprised at how quickly it was done, Tenten waved to Naruto to lead her up to her apartment before they took care of the boxes.

Naruto, however, was amazed at the sheer number of boxes, as well as how many of them contained many many sharp, pointy devices of pain and death. Weapons expert of Konoha was not a fake title, at all...

Nodding dumbly at Tenten's request, the blonde followed her up, absently pointing out his apartment and then the one next to it designated as hers, never taking his eyes off the pile of boxes at the ground level.

"Ah, it looks nice...I'm gonna have to use up a few storage scrolls, but it should do! Naruto, let's bring the stuff in a bit later, I wanna look around this place so I can plan out where everything is gonna go!"

Another dumb nod was all the jinchuuriki could manage, the thoughts of dropping one of those boxes flooding his mind with the inevitable pain that would come.

* * *

**There. A Chapter. After forever and a half. Buuuut I hope people still read it...as always, if you review, please make it helpful in some way. And if you want to, you can bite my head off for not posting for forever.**

**And as far as I can tell, unless I got a few invisible reviews, the vote count is still the same. Ino is still in the lead...oh, and by the way, you CAN vote for those not on the list. I think I should just let that be an option...however late.**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. Cellmates to Housemates

**I...am such a horrible person...it's been so long...well, now I don't really have any excuses to not do anything here, so it's high time I get started again.**

**Disclaimer: Must I say it again? Monkeys with typewriters. If true, we must be living in freakin' Oz or something...anyway...**

* * *

It was an unexpected occurrence that something so violent would awaken inside of Naruto. No one could expect for something like that evil beast to even exist, let alone reside within the confines of the Seal. But, it did happen.

Reviewing the tapes given to him by the ANBU, Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked and awed. Despite being trapped within the body of a twelve year old, despite having almost no real power in this world, the monster that possessed Naruto was still capable of defeating a nearly Chuunin level shinobi, something Naruto was only able to do when he went berserk with the same beast's powers. The poor girl, Tenten, from her file information, must be traumatized...to be assaulted by that monster...it was a miracle she was alive. Of course, both would be staying alive, regardless of what had occurred. It was a shame that the ANBU that filmed it had to be discharged for his suggestions of what to do with the boy...he was actually one of the better ANBU in the corps.

Sighing loudly, the Sandaime Hokage called out to his seemingly empty room, "Kisuke, Mura, go prep the...the captives...for my arrival...I'll be questioning them personally..."

With that, two spots on the adjacent walls shifted slightly, signaling the departure of the two ANBU. Leaning back in his chair, and turning off the television that was playing the tape, the old man sighed again. "Naruto-kun...how could this happen...?"

* * *

_Interrogation Cells_

Slowly waking up from his beauty nap, Naruto was shocked to find himself in the bleak and barren cell in which he was now located. Looking about in a panic, he tried to ascertain just where he was. As he started to move to get a better look, he felt cold metal on his wrists and neck, cold stone on his back. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of black chains and shackles holding him to the wall, another around his neck. Looking down, his legs were in a similar state, thick metal shackles chaining his ankles to the ground. His body had been stripped of his clothing, leaving him with nothing but a pair of prison-issue boxers, paper thin and useless against the cold stone floor. Inwardly, he began to panic, wondering if the villagers were finally going to kill him for good. Before his mind could really wander, though, a deep, gruff, male voice interrupted him.

"Oi, you two, wake up. Hokage-sama is going to come down here soon, to personally question you...lets hope he doesn't just outright kill ya, eh? HAHAHA!" he said, footsteps echoing away as the man walked away from the heavy metal door separating Naruto's cell from the hall. Another, lighter, decidedly female voice followed the male, stating, "You didn't have to be so mean...they're only kids..."

Unable to comprehend what the man had said, Naruto spent a small amount of time dwelling on it. Whatever had happened, it was enough to make the Sandaime Hokage, his Jii-chan, put him in a jail cell-like place, and want to question him...

However, something else grabbed his attention. The ANBU had spoken like there were two people in the room. Realizing that he hadn't really been paying attention to everything in the cell the first look around, he took another shot at it, finally noticing the other person.

"W-wha...Tenten! What are we doing here? What's going on?" he said frantically, trying to wiggle around and get out of his bindings.

"Why should I tell you...? You should know all about this..." she said dejectedly, curled up in a corner of the cell. She was in similar condition to him. Her hands and ankles, while not attached to a wall or floor, still had thick shackles that prevented much use. She was also stripped of her standard attire, given the necessary undergarments provided in most jails. Out of a sense of decency, Naruto made an effort not to look, a deep blush on his face.

"Seriously, Tenten, I have no idea what's going on...what happened...?"

Glancing up at him, Tenten's deep brown eyes, normally shining with happiness and joy, were now dead and flat, almost broken in nature. Hesitantly, she spoke, fear evident in her voice, "Y-you really don't know...? How...it's your f-fault..."

Hearing those words, the blonde's voice took on a shocked and bewildered tone as he said, "W-what? You're kidding, right...? I didn't do anything...a-all I remember is you trying to kill me...a-and...then nothing..."

Now it was Tenten's turn to be shocked. The boy that had nearly killed her, could have ripped her apart with those monstrous claws, had no idea what had occurred. But, when she thought back, she knew it wasn't quite him...those eyes...those horrible yellow eyes, filled with rage and cruelty...they weren't his. Those ocean blue eyes could never hold that kind of contempt...

As she dwelled on this thought, she heard her blonde acquaintance speak again, "H-hey...when did you get those tattoos...? They're so weird..."

Though Tenten was about to snap at Naruto for looking at her barely-clothed form, she realized that he wasn't looking at her like a pervert. No, he was looking at the jarring new marks that were spread across her body.

"T-these...? I...no...y-you'll hear during the questioning...Hokage-sama will hear what happened at the same time you do, Naruto..."

Part of the spiky haired boy's baser instincts could read that Tenten was incredibly sad right now...which, in turn, made him sad, since it sounded as though it were his fault. Sighing, he started fiddling with the chains again, attempting to get through them and get his hands free, at the least. However, the metal was too strong for him. Trying to use some chakra, he focused it towards his hands, only to find it dispersed before it could even start moving. Grunting and groaning, he kept trying for a few moments before going limp.

"G-god damnit...what is with these things?" he said angrily, pouting and glaring at the opposite wall. Tenten, in her ever-increasing knowledge of all things used as tools, replied.

"These are chakracuffs...they absorb chakra that is used to try and escape, and instead strengthen the metal...we aren't getting out of them unless we pick the locks...if I could get one of the little stone chips that broke off from the last guy in here, I could do it..."

Deciding that getting out of the cuffs would make being in the cell a LOT more comfortable, Naruto started looking around for one of those little chips...and noticed one conveniently located near his left foot, in the shape of a needle. Carefully sliding it with his foot, so as not to somehow break it, he rolled it over to Tenten. "There...that should at least get you out."

Surprised that Naruto would even consider helping her, after what she had done, she slowly picked up the stone piece, carefully slipping it into the keyhole on her hand shackles. Wiggling it around very carefully, she heard a click, and the cuffs fell off, clattering loudly. Repeating the process for her ankle cuffs, she shakily stood up and stretched, having been stuck like that for a few hours. Glancing over at her..."friend," still bound with chains, she carefully considered unchaining him, too...afterall, he DID give her the chance to get some freedom of movement again, after she killed him (sort of). Then again, he could be playing coy and still be that monster, and do horrible things to her once free...

As Tenten stood and contemplated, staring at her makeshift lock pick, Naruto resigned himself to being stuck in that position. It was obvious she resented him for something. Even he, the densest blockhead in all of Konohagakure, could tell when someone didn't like him. It had been that way ever since he was little; villagers pelting him with anything on hand, shinobi beating him nearly to death in alleyways, civilians glaring at him, muttering names under their breaths...it was all the same. Tenten was just another addition, someone to hate him until the day he died.

That is, until her heard the faint breath of said girl near him. Snapping back to reality, he saw Tenten standing beside him, carefully and slowly working at the lock at his wrists. Careful to keep his eyes on her hands, he watched, astounded at the fact that she was actually helping him, even after he had apparently done something really bad to her...

"Tenten...why are yo-"

"Because, you helped me, so I'm returning the favor...there, got it," she said, Naruto's hands falling to his sides, sore from being held up so long. As he forced them up so he could massage his chafed wrists, Tenten knelt down and started work on his ankle cuffs. Naruto remained speechless as he watched, afraid that saying even one word might make her change her mind. However, that wasn't necessary, as the stone piece finally snapped, the two pieces bouncing off of the floor. Tenten sighed.

"Well...at least you can use your hands now..." she said slightly dejectedly, moving to sit across from Naruto, clutching her knees to her chest. "Naruto...that really wasn't you doing all that...? Doing this," she said, gesturing to the marks on her body, "to me...you wouldn't ever be that heartless, would you...?"

Staring at her with a semi-happy, semi-sad smile, Naruto replied, "Of course not...never! I would never hurt my friends, no matter what! Dattebayo!"

Smiling weakly at his trademark statement, Tenten relaxed herself a little, his answer satisfying her fears.

As the two finally settled down, they heard footsteps echoing down the outside hall again. Both looked towards the door as the heavy locks on the other side came undone, the Hokage stepping in with two ANBU guards, the two from before. Looking at the two, he was shocked to see their bindings undone...only halfway in the blonde's case.

"What...Kisuke, Mura, I thought that you had searched them?"

"We did, Hokage-sama! They had nothing...I made sure of it!" the female exclaimed, equally as shocked. The male, Kisuke, noticed the broken stone piece near Naruto. "Hmph...looks like the brats figured another way around it..."

Sarutobi sighed deeply again. He was doing a lot of that as of late, it seemed. "Naruto, Tenten. Technically, when held in these cells, you are prisoners of Konoha. By undoing those chains, it can be considered an attempt to escape. Since you two are young, I won't punish you, but let that be a warning," he said, his eyes hardening as he stared at the two. Waving his hand, he dismissed the two ANBU, the cloaked shinobi locking the door behind them once more.

"Alright, children...I saw what went on...up to the point of Naruto-kun holding you up by your neck, Tenten-chan. Can either of you tell me what happened?"

Naruto was the first to reply, being the loudmouth that he was, saying, "I don't know, Jii-chan! I can't remember anything after getting...uhm...killed? I think..."

Flinching a bit at the last words, Tenten decided to fill him in. "W-well, Hokage-sama...that thing did this weird justu or something...it made these weird chain markings appear...and...it said something about controlling me...I think that when that thing is around...it can order me around, against my will...I-I passed out after that..."

Sarutobi gently stroked his beard, taking in these details. It was rather strange that the creature, or power, living inside Naruto had the ability to do such things...it certainly wasn't the Kyuubi doing it, either. "Well, children...that's a very interesting bit of information...and rather bothersome..." he said, still thinking about what to do.

"Jii-chan, w-what are you gonna do with me...?" the spikey blonde asked, a little worried.

"Nothing, Naruto...but...I want you to show me the seal."

"What seal? You mean those marks on my stomach...?" he questioned, tilting his head a bit. On the other side of the cell, Tenten listened in confusion. Seal? Naruto had a seal on him? SHE certainly didn't see one. However, when Naruto began focusing chakra, it became fairly clear. A round, incredibly complex sun-shaped seal placed right over his chakra core, something so intricate that Tenten could never even dream of starting it.

"W-woah...that's...that's incredible...! What on earth does that thing h-" she staretd, before she was cut off. As Naruto kept focusing his chakra, a black mist started seeping out. Naruto didn't notice it, his eyes shut as he focused. The Hokage didn't either, the substance seemingly invisible to him. However, to Tenten, it was clear as day. However, she didn't notice as the chain markings on her body grew a shade darking, starting to almost peel off her skin. A few moments of that, and another mark appeared on the seal; three claw like slashes straight down the mark, as though something had tried to claw its way free.

"Naruto...this is a grave matter...if there is truly something else in there, aside from the Kyuubi no Yo-" Sandaime started, before cutting himself off, frozen in place. Tenten was equally stunned.

"T-t-the Kyuubi n-n-no Youkou...? The demon that the Yondaime killed twelve years ago...?"

And with that statement, it all hit her. Twelve years ago, the Kyuubi was supposedly killed by the Yondaime Hokage...twelve years ago, Naruto was born...on the same day as the day of Kyuubi...which meant...

"Naruto is the Kyuubi!"

Pressing herself tight against the wall, Tenten's heart pounded. The fact that the demon that had killed so many in the village, had killed their most powerful Kage yet, had killed her parents, was Naruto...the monster could have killed her and finished off her family once and for a-

"No. Do not think of him as such. Naruto is the beast's container. He holds back the demon, prevents it from killing us all once more. The Yondaime sealed it into him, as the beast could not be killed. Naruto is no more a monster than you or me, Tenten. Do not ever treat him otherwise," Sarutobi said, his stare hard and cold.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama..."

Taking his gaze away from her, the old Hokage knelt down to inspect the seal. While he was nowhere near the level that his successor was, he could still tell what parts were damaged. Carefully examining each spot, he used some chakra on the tip of his finger to probe the stability of each mark. As Naruto tried not to giggle from the sensitive spots that the Hokage was touching, said shinobi leader began to check the claw marks. Upon touching it, though, Hiruzen yanked his hand back as though something had bitten him. Staring at the marks, he was astounded. A sentient being living within the seal, one that didn't want to be found out...this could mean both trouble and opportunity.

"Naruto...it seems as though the seal has been corrupted by another being. However, from the mark it left, it created something similar to a function of the original seal...in that you can draw on that being's power. I wouldn't try it too much, though," he said, his look warning Naruto of the danger, "though it would be worthwhile to know."

Turning to Tenten, the Hokage carefully considered what to do with her, considering her involvement in the situation. Eyeing the chain marks and recalling what was said about them, he decided a bit more questioning was necessary.

"Tenten...tell me, you live alone, correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Hm...well, considering those marks...and that we don't know if the beast has any power without controlling Naruto's body...Tenten, by order of the Hokage, you are to live within the abandoned apartment complex that Naruto uses."

Nodding at his orders, Tenten readily accepted it. For about half a second, that is, before she burst out, "WHAT? You want me to live with him! Hokage-sama, have you gone senile?"

Sighing once more, Sarutobi retorted with, "Now, now. You won't live in the same rooming. You'll have your own section of the apartments. I'll send over some shinobi to fix the building back up to spec. It is up to Naruto whether you will pay for any utilities you use there, however, as he is the technical owner of the building."

Naruto, just as startled and flabbergasted at the Hokage's decision, sat in a daze against his wall, as his seal faded away. The three claw marks, however, stayed in place.

"Now, all your possessions will be moved, free of charge, to the apartment next to his, and you will be provided the same utilities you were provided in your other home. This is more an arrangement of necessity than anything," he said, a more peaceful look on his face than before. "Once Naruto has a basic grasp over how to use those...chains...he will be able to provide control over them so that you won't be subject to the creature's will. Now, your clothes are located on the chairs just outside the cell. Naruto, we took the liberty of retreiving a new ensemble for you to replace the lost jumpsuit."

With that, the Hokage walked off, leaving the room, door unbolted by his ANBU, just in time for Naruto to snap out of his stupor. Blinking for a few moments, he finally realized what the Hokage had decided.

"WHAT?"

And somewhere in Kumogakure, a rockslide fell on a helpess hotel...empty, thankfully, for their off season.

* * *

_A few minutes later_

As the two Genin were guided up from their holding cell to the first floor of the complex that HELD the interrogation chambers, Naruto grumbled at his new outfit. First off, none of it was even orange, the best damn color in the world'ttebayo! Second, the coat he was provided was way too big...it fell down to his knees, the sleeves big enough to cover most of his hands.

Naruto was now where black shinobi pants, the same kind worn by Jounin, taped off at the ankle and everything, alongise the standard black shinobi sandals. He had his original pouches strapped on, his hip pouch hidden by his new coat, pure black in color. Underneath the coat he was provided with a fishnet shirt, staple to many shinobi outfits, the mesh dyed deep, deep red, the same color as the malignant chakra used by the beast sealed within.

"Gah, who the hell did Jii-chan let pick out this thing...? Grrr..." he mumbled, trying to adjust to the length and size of the oversized coat. Tenten giggled at him, talking in an almost mocking voice.

"Oh, come on...seriously, that orange was an eyesore...I mean, not only do you look waaay cooler, but now you can hide even better!"

"But I could already hide perfectly! I was like, number two in stealth training!" he said, flailing his arms to try and get his hands out of his sleeves.

"Exactly...can you imagine what you can do with DARK clothing? I mean, if you wore black, you could have been number one in the class!" Tenten exclaimed, her fear of him having subsided a lot. In front of them, the male ANBU from before hung his head in shame, contemplating how he went from being a Black Op to being an escort for children.

As Naruto and Tenten continued to argue back and forth about his new outfit (Naruto's most common answer being "But ORANGE'ttebayo!"), they were led up to the first floor, which just happened to be just behind the lobby of none other than the Hokage Tower itself. At this point, one could easily predict the freak out that occurred immediately afterwards, Naruto going on about how that place was underneath the most important building in Konoha. But before Naruto could shout out the Tower's secret to the whole world, the ANBU picked him up by his collar and literally kicked him out the door, Tenten walking up besides him just after he finished sliding to a halt on his face.

"Itei-tei-tei...that really wasn't needed...ttebayo..." he said, to which Tenten laughed at him, finding his pain funny.

"Pfft...haha...c'mon, Naruto...take me to that apartment building. You can give me a tour or something while we wait for my stuff to get there and those shinobi to start reparing it, okay?"

Naruto nodded, knowing where she was coming from. If she was going to live somewhere new, she'd want to know the layout and stuff not to get lost...or she was just bored. Either way. Getting up off of the ground, he started to run off, Tenten following after him quickly.

_A few minutes later again_

When they arrived at the apartment complex, panting from the run, to find that the shinobi assigned to moving Tenten's stuff had already gotten it done, the last of the boxes being dropped off at the stairs. Surprised at how quickly it was done, Tenten waved to Naruto to lead her up to her apartment before they took care of the boxes.

Naruto, however, was amazed at the sheer number of boxes, as well as how many of them contained many many sharp, pointy devices of pain and death. Weapons expert of Konoha was not a fake title, at all...

Nodding dumbly at Tenten's request, the blonde followed her up, absently pointing out his apartment and then the one next to it designated as hers, never taking his eyes off the pile of boxes at the ground level.

"Ah, it looks nice...I'm gonna have to use up a few storage scrolls, but it should do! Naruto, let's bring the stuff in a bit later, I wanna look around this place so I can plan out where everything is gonna go!"

Another dumb nod was all the jinchuuriki could manage, the thoughts of dropping one of those boxes flooding his mind with the inevitable pain that would come.

* * *

**There. A Chapter. After forever and a half. Buuuut I hope people still read it...as always, if you review, please make it helpful in some way. And if you want to, you can bite my head off for not posting for forever.**

**And as far as I can tell, unless I got a few invisible reviews, the vote count is still the same. Ino is still in the lead...oh, and by the way, you CAN vote for those not on the list. I think I should just let that be an option...however late.**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	12. Well, apologies

**This is less of a chapter as it is a...well, a goodbye of sorts.**

**You see, my readers, it appears that the laptop which I saved all my story notes is in a state where it cannot be repaired without destroying all my data.**

**And as it pains me to say, while I had much of this planned out, I can't continue.**

**I really wish I could have, but upon losing the data for the story, I lost all motivation for it as well. **

**That isn't to say that I'll be leaving the site. I leave this note here to say that I am willing to start anew with a new story, a new storyline.**

**In fact, for those that still even care, I'll be willing to take your suggestions and do my best to fulfill the suggestion that I find most appealing.**

**If you could, please leave a review or PM me your ideas, if you even care.**

**Again, I'm dreadfully sorry about all this, as I know some of you loved this story a lot. Some a bit too much, maybe. You know who I'm talking about.**

**But anyway. I would love to hear your suggestions.**

**So, as I've said before...Silver out.**


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